


Wars of power

by fading_star



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Comedy, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Smut, F/M, Gen, Jealousy, Love/Hate, RIVAL CEO AU, Romance, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-09
Updated: 2016-03-11
Packaged: 2018-05-05 21:33:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 67,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5391206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fading_star/pseuds/fading_star
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Playboy Oliver Queen spent a fun night with a goth, named Felicity but things ended badly between them.<br/>Four years later they meet again as CEOs of two of the biggest companies in Starling City.<br/>One year after their second meeting they hate each other but unexpected events occur and they are forces to work together.<br/>RIVAL CEO AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys! This is my first attempt at a fanfic and I'm really worried and excited at the same time! This fic was inspired by this post on tumblr: http://olicity-smoak-queen.tumblr.com/post/134019497217/sentence-fragments-rival-ceo-au-please-thank  
> Just to clarify, English is not my first language so if there are any mistakes I apologise.  
> I hope you enjoy! ^_^

_**Five years earlier:** _

It was early in the morning and Oliver was awake. His eyes were still closed, but he was awake and he could feel the sunshine gliding over his eyelids. He could also feel a headache that was forming caused by all the alcohol from last night. He had had the party of his life after another fight with Laurel.

 

She was getting more and more suspicious and moody and it was getting on his nerves. Okay, so he had cheated once or twice.. or three times?.. okay, maybe nine?... doesn't matter. This relationship was toxic and was sucking the happiness out of him and he needed to take a break. So he had gone to a party with his best friend, Tommy.

 

Suddenly, memories from last night started flashing before his eyes. Patron shots, tequila, whiskey, cheep beer, sweaty people dancing around. He had lost Tommy at some point but he didn't know when exactly. And then he remembered the hot _and underage_ goth girl who somehow happened to be there. He had approached her and they had talked a little. Before he took her to one of the bedrooms upstairs kissing her all the way up. Then the goth girl showed him a _thing or two_ making this the best night in his life. Honestly, she wasn't really his type but he had tried almost everything so it didn't matter. She was 17 and it really sounded so tempting- spending the night with her. He remembered some words from a song he had recently heard saying _'She can't be what you need if she's seventeen'_ and he thought he should see if that's true. _It's not such a big deal_ , he thought. _I'm 21, it's just 4 years_. This decision lead to the best sex he had had in his life.

 

Oliver opened his eyes and saw long black hair all over the pillow beside him. His arm was wrapped around a creamy soft and _very_ naked body. He pushed himself up slightly to see the girl who was still asleep. The sun was caressing her skin and she looked so calm and peaceful. All the heavy eye makeup might have made her look two or three years older last night, but right now she looked so young and beautiful. Oliver felt guilty. He wasn't sorry and he didn't regret what had happened, because it was the best thing ever, but she was too innocent and sweet and he shouldn't have used her just because he had been angry at Laurel.

 

'Good morning.'

 

He looked down at her and found her smiling at him. He couldn't help himself and smiled back at her.

 

'Did you sleep well?', he asked. He was surprised. Usually, he would have left before the girl was awake. But this girl, he at least owed her a morning talk... _and maybe a second round?_ He lied down next to her and pulled her closer to him.

 

'Wow, wow, wait', she pushed herself slightly. 'I'm not really a fan of cuddling and stuff... I mean I wouldn't mind cuddling with you, it's just not my thing... But maybe it's yours. Nothing bad about that, it's kind of cute... Most chicks usually love it, it's just I'm not like most chicks... To me cuddling is weird. You just stand there and...'

 

'Felicity...', he was shocked because he actually remembered her name. That was a first time.

 

'Okay, I'll stop talking', she said awkwardly and bit her lips.

 

He couldn't help but smile. He leaned down and kissed her slowly. All the anger from last night was long gone, and the terrible headache was bearable. Being with her, right there in their little bubble felt strangely good to him. She wrapped her hands around his neck pulling him on top of her. He sucked on her lower lip slightly causing her to moan. Just when he was about to go for round two she pulled away from the kiss.

 

'I have to go. I have a very important exam tomorrow and I really need to study'.

 

She frowned a little and walked into the bathroom. He could see she didn't want to go but he could also see that she was one of those girls that set goals for themselves and achieved them. Apparently, studying was necessary so there wasn't much he could do... Even if she stayed, what was supposed to happen? He was still in a relationship and she was still to young and definitely not his type.

 

When she came out she reached for her clothes and started getting dressed while he was watching her every move. She reached for her skirt and put it on. The zipper was long and it was on the backside. She tried to pull it up a couple of times but failed and cursed quietly under her breath. Oliver chuckled at the sight of that.

 

'Here,' he said, while getting up. 'Let me help you with that.'

 

'I'd really appreciate it', she smiled up at him.

 

This Felicity was not the Felicity that provoked and teased him last night. Last night's Felicity was mischievous and flirty and confident. This morning's Felicity was sweet and kind and sort of shy. He loved it. He stood behind her and started pulling the zipper up.

 

'All done.'

 

'Thanks,' she turned around to face him. 'For the zipper... Well not only. Thank you for last night too. I had a lot of fun. You're very fun... And you're kind of attractive... I don't really like your hair and maybe you'd be more attractive with a beard or something.... I didn't mean to say that out loud... because... that would make things awkward... Which they are now, thanks to me...' she took a deep breath. 'Thank you, Oliver. For... For everything'

 

In this moment Oliver felt as if time had stopped. They stood in the middle of the room, facing each other, hundreds of unspoken words in the air, two pairs of blue inquisitive eyes reading the emotions in the other. They were in a bubble they had created for themselves, neither caring about the outside world.

 

Suddenly, there was a series of knocks on the door that popped their bubble.

 

'Oliver, are you in there?', a female voice came from the outside.

 

 _Shit. Laurel. How did she even know where he was?_ Oliver felt a shiver, his hands started to sweat and he knew he was fucked. He looked at Felicity, who was already looking at him, her brows were furrowed. Confusion was written on her face and he knew this was the most unpleasant situation he had ever been into.

 

'I'm so sorry,' he whispered. 'God, I'm so fucking sorry for this. Please, I know I shouldn't ask this of you, but could you hide in the bathroom?'

 

She opened her mouth in shock, her eyes filled with disappointment and pain. She looked down for a second and let out a quiet humorless chuckle. When she looked up at him, the disappointment was substituted by disgust and anger.

 

'Oliver, are you there?' Laurel called out again.

 

'Yes, I'm coming.', he said not moving his eyes from Felicity's.

 

She took her shoes in one hand, her jacket in the other and went to the bathroom. He felt pathetic. He was cheating on Laurel for the thousandth time, and he had just hurt another girl that was at the wrong place at the wrong time. He pursed his lips and went to open the door.

 

'Hi,' he put on a fake smile.

 

Apparently, Laurel couldn't see through it, which was kind of disturbing, but in this situation he was glad for it. She went straight into his arms and hugged him tightly. He put his arms around her as well, feeling repulsed.

 

'Look, I wanted to apologise for last night. I...,' she started.

 

'No, it's okay. You shouldn't apologise for anything,' he interrupted her. If only she knew...

 

'I think that.. because of past events I've been having a hard time trusting you again and I've become paranoid, which is never a good thing. I know relationships are all about trust and I wasn't a good partner, so please, forgive me'

 

'Laurel, please, it's okay.'

 

Then she kissed him. At first he didn't respond, still thinking about Felicity, and how her lips had been there less then 30 minutes ago, and how she was in the bathroom probably listening to them. But he had to return the kiss so that Laurel wouldn't get suspicious again. So he did. They kissed for a while and then he pulled back.

 

'Laurel, why don't you go to your car, I'll go quickly to the bathroom and I'll get dressed and then we can go to my dorm room, okay?'

 

'Yeah, okay,' she smiled. Then she gave him a quick kiss and left the room.

 

For a moment Oliver stood there not knowing what to do, but then he moved to the bathroom. He opened the door and Felicity quickly sneaked around him.

 

'Hey, Felicity. Please,' he tried to grab her arm but she was faster than him. 'Wait, let me explain. It's not what it lo-..'

 

'Don't you dare say that it's not what it looks like because it's _exactly_ what it looks like.'

 

She turned to face him. Her face was red with anger.

 

'Felicity, I...'

 

'No. I don't want to listen. I am so freaking pissed. Not only you used me, but you lied to me... You should've said that you had a girlfriend! Why did you even start talking to me?', she was yelling. 'Do you know the position you put me into? And that girl? She came here apologising and you had to audacity to kiss her? You're so low...'

 

'God damn it, Felicity, you're acting like I cheated on _you_. We're not dating for fuck's sake. This doesn't affect you at all,' now he was shouting. Then there was a pause. A long one.

 

'Don't worry. It didn't mean much to me, too,' she said, finally breaking the silence, and headed towards the door.

 

'FELICITY! Don't...'

 

'Stop! I don't want to listen to you anymore. God, you're so basic and stupid. I cannot believe I slept with you... I bet your family is proud...'

 

'Felicity, stop right there,'

 

She was about to cross a line. He could feel it so he tried to stop her from talking.

 

'That little sister that you told me about...Thea. I hope she just has better taste in men and never makes the mistake of being with someone like you. Because , Oliver, you're the biggest douche I've ever met.'

 

With those words, Felicity stormed out of the room leaving Oliver alone with his anger, pain and shame.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

_**One year earlier:** _

Summer was coming and it was getting hotter and more humid. Oliver was lying on the couch in his office switching channels on his TV, thinking about the past couple of years.

 

After his father had died three years ago, he had just finished business school and had taken over Queen Consolidated. Losing his father made him grow up much faster, which turned him into a great CEO. He hadn't had a normal relationship, _just flings here and there_ ,  since Laurel caught him cheating on her with her sister. That was the last straw and Laurel had officially put an end. Now she was dating his best friend, Tommy, and they seemed happy. Honestly, Oliver thought he'd be in more pain but he didn't mind it all. He had always loved Laurel, but as a friend. Dating her was a mistake but he had realised it too late, which led to the all the lies and cheating.

 

Despite everything, he was happy. Well, not too happy, but he was okay, neutral. Today he was supposed to go to a very important meeting between all of Starling's big people. They were going to be introduced to the new CEO of Sanderson Industries. The old one, Alex Matthews, had taken a bad path and had lost a lot of money, so no wonder he was being replaced.

Becky, Oliver's assistant, came in his office and told him it was time for him to leave for the meeting. He looked up at her and noticed her purple dress, the one she had worn the first time they fucked. He understood it was a hint but he wasn't really in the mood.. _maybe later?_ He left his office and was greeted by his driver/friend, John Diggle. They walked to the car and headed for Sanderson Industries.

 

'So what's the deal with the new CEO?', Digg looked at him from his rearview mirror.

 

'I don't really know. Becky gave me the details,' he opened the folder and started reading. 'Oh, that's interesting. It's gonna be a woman.' he chuckled.

 

'Don't laugh, man. Female bosses are scarier and more determined than male bosses,' Digg said.

 

'It says she is 21... Just graduated from MIT... Used to work for Sanderson's IT department... I bet she'll have glasses, a turtle neck and a long black skirt,' he said jokingly.

 

Soon after they arrived, Oliver greeted everyone, and he and Digg took their seats and started talking quietly to Tommy who was also there.

 

Less than a minute later, they heard a pair of heels on the floor and Oliver glanced in that direction. He couldn't see her face yet as she had just passed him by but he could see her back and lower back and... She looked good from behind. Her blonde hair was in a sleek ponytail and he could see she had glasses. She was wearing a short red dress with interesting cuts in the back. She wasn't wearing a bra today apparently. The moment she reached the other end of the table where the screen was, she turned around to face them and Oliver's jaw dropped. _Shit_.  

 

'Hi. My name is Felicity Smoak,' she said smiling. 'And I will be taking over Sanderson Industries.'

 

'Ray Palmer, CEO of Palmer Tech.'

 

'Sabrina Nelson, owner of Starling City's hospital'

 

As they started introducing themselves one by one, Oliver's nervousness increased so much that he could feel his ears turn red. _Shit. Shit. Shit._

'Tommy Merlyn, Merlyn Global,' Tommy said giving her a wink.

 

She smiled at him and moved her eyes on Oliver. And he could see recognition struck her. Her eyes opened wider, her mouth slightly formed the shape of an 'O'. And then there was anger and annoyance in her eyes. If he didn't know better,  he'd think he saw a spark in her eyes. The kind she had on their night together. Four years ago... He would never admit it, but he remembered that night clear as day.

 

'O-Oliver Queen, CEO of Queen Consolidated,' he cleared his voice, trying to sound powerful and manly.

 

'Pleasure...' she said giving him the fakest smile in the history of fake smiles. And then he saw the devilish spark in her eyes for real. As if she was telling him something, challenging him...

 

In that moment Oliver Queen realised he really was fucked. This woman stood there in front of him, strong, determined and by the look of it... she was going to put him through hell. What was weird was the fact that he wanted to play her game. He knew she'd turn his life into a nightmare, but he was looking forward to it.

 

'Well, at least you were right about the glasses,' Digg whispered in his ear causing Oliver to chuckle nervously. He immediately looked up to see Felicity Smoak only to find her already looking at him...

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We see Felicity and Oliver's relationship in present day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! So my computer broke down last week and led to this delay! But I'm here now, so I'll try to be punctual.  
> Hope you like this. If you do, leave me a comment or kudo ^_^  
> I don't have a beta and English is not my first language, so if there are any mistakes, they're all mine.  
> Happy reading!

Present day:

Oliver was kissing her hungrily. He had had a pretty good day and in the end of it, he just wanted ‘some cake’. The charming and attractive young man he was, it didn’t take him long to find a candidate. Today’s pick was his secretary Becky. She was somebody Oliver would call whenever he needed something quick and dirty.

She moaned into his mouth, as she pushed him into her bed and got on top of him. No, no, no. Tonight, he was in the mood to be on top, so he easily flipped them over, causing her to chuckle slightly against his lips. She reached to undo his shirt and he leaned down to kiss her again. Okay, so she wasn’t the best kisser in the world, but she was good enough and she was, _well_ , available.

All of a sudden his phone beeped showing him he had received a notification. He pulled away from Becky and reached for his phone.

‘What are you doing?’ the girl beneath him asked, visibly annoyed.

‘Becky, I’m a businessman. I need to know what’s going on at any time,’ he said smiling down at her. ‘Give me a sec.’

He took his phone to see what it was and he regretted it immediately.

**_‘Starling’s biggest sweetheart Felicity Smoak made it into Vogue’s top 10 most fashionable females of the decade. Click to see which position she took’_ **

_Un-be-fucking-lievable_! He couldn’t help rolling his eyes at the article.

The past year, Oliver’s life had been quite difficult thanks to Felicity Smoak, who, in contrast, had had a flying start of her career.

After she had become the CEO of Sanderson Industries, she had saved the company from going under. She was a young and motivated woman, full of ideas. They had won several major projects and had launched a variety of gadgets such as new phones, computers, tablets, watches and many more. They had even surpassed Apple in sales! _God damn Apple!_ Felicity Smoak’s contribution to the company’s success had led to the board changing its’ name. Soon after, Sanderson Industries had become Smoak Industries.

Oliver couldn’t stand that woman. Not because she was successful, he didn’t care about that. He was annoyed because she was mean and unfriendly towards him, making rude remarks and comments. When he had met her again, one year ago, he had hoped they could talk things through, try to be friends and see where it would take them, but she had made it crystal clear that being his friend was the last thing she wanted to be. It was like they had some kind of a ritual every time they met:

  1.       They see each other.
  2.       They roll their eyes.
  3.       One of them approaches the other making a callous comment.
  4.       The other gets angry and fires back.
  5.       The first one gets angrier and answers back and then the other…
  6.       Somebody comes and separates them from each other.



 

At this moment, however, Oliver was actually pretty curious to see what position Felicity had taken on the list. She usually dressed really classy, and elegant; even sexy at times… _Enough!_ He stopped his thoughts from going in that direction. He tried opening the article but for some weird reason his Internet was slow, and his phone didn’t load the page. He furrowed his brows and tried again, with no result. He glanced over at Becky who was staring at the ceiling, looking rather bored.

‘What is taking so long?’ she asked pouting at him. She put her hand on his shoulder and started caressing him.

‘Hold on. This might take a while,’ he removed her hand from his shoulder and turned his back to her.

He quickly dialed a number, and after a couple of beeps, his ‘target’, John Diggle, finally answered.

‘Oliver?! Are you alright?’ he heard Digg’s sleepy voice.

‘Yeah, I’m great actually,’ Oliver said. ‘What are you doing?’

‘Umm? At 12:47am? ... I was trying to sleep.’

‘Oh, good for you,’ Oliver answered. ‘Did you hear the news? Smoak made it in some fashion list!’

He said that while chuckling. He heard Becky’s incredulous ‘Really?’ somewhere behind him but he just waved at her to be quiet.

‘Oliver, are you seriously calling to tell me _this_?!’ Diggle asked on the other side of the phone.

‘No, not only. I wanted you to check which position she took,’ Oliver said.

‘Are you joking?!’ John let out a small laugh. Oliver’s silence meant he was serious, indeed. ‘You are crazy.’

Diggle reached for his wife’s phone and started typing.

‘Did you see?’ Oliver asked impatiently. _Please, don’t be first. Please don’t be first._ He knew that if she had taken the number one position, she would find a way to rub it in his face.

‘I don’t get it, man. If you hate her so much, why did you set your phone to get a notification every time her name was mentioned in the news?’ he asked.

‘Well, Digg, you know what people say. Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.’

‘Well, _Oliver_ , you know what _I_ say? You are an idiot… My, my, would you look at that’ Diggle started chuckling. ‘She’s number one.’

‘What?! No… she… doesn’t deserve it!’ Oliver protested. ‘Somebody else should have been first… Blake Lively, for example.’

‘According to Vogue, she’s third,’ Diggle remarked.

Oliver heard Becky sighing loudly behind him and he looked at her. She was now in a sitting position and was looking at him furiously.

‘Look, Digg, I gotta go! See you tomorrow,’ he hung up without waiting for John’s response.

He reached to pull Becky to him but she pushed his hands away.

‘I don’t understand, Oliver. Why do you care so much about her?’ her hands were crossed in front of her chest and she was looking questioningly at him.

‘I don’t. I just want to know what she’s up to, so that I can be ahead of her.’ He said and gave Becky his famous ‘Oliver Queen’ smile that he knew women loved. Becky was no inception and she quickly lowered herself to him as she smiled back. ‘Now, where were we?’

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The next morning, Oliver walked into Queen Consolidated’s conference room. He greeted everyone who was there and took his seat next to Tommy.

It was his time to host the meeting of ‘Star’s Elite’, a club consisting of Starling’s most influencing people. Each week, they gathered and talked about different subjects, regarding their city. Truth be told, he wouldn’t have come today if it hadn’t been his turn to host. He was happy to be a part of this club, but he could barely stand the people there.

Just as he and Tommy were talking about his little rendezvous last night, he heard a painfully familiar pace on the floor. He could recognise her steps everywhere.  He looked up and eyed her instinctively from head to toe. Today her hair was down, her lips bright pink. She was wearing a matching pink flowy top, black skinny jeans and panda flats. _Panda flats?! How old was she? 7?_

‘Good morning everyone’, she said with a dimpled smile.

They all started greeting and smiling at her. Oliver couldn’t stand how, apparently, nobody batted an eye for the fact that she was _20 minutes late_. Barry _fucking_ Allen stood up and hugged her tightly.

Oliver didn’t really care about those people here, who they were seeing or screwing, but there was just something about Barry Allen and _his close friendship_ with Felicity Smoak that he couldn’t stand. He didn’t know whether they were dating or not, but the way she laughed at his jokes, and the way he was looking at her while she was talking to him, piqued his interest in a bad way.

‘I know I’m a little late, so as an apology,’ she reached into the basket she was carrying. ‘I baked some muffins for you’

They all started cheering and thanking her and Oliver was sure he was turning red. _That woman!_ She circled the big table and put a muffin in front of each seat. When she reached Tommy, _that fucking traitor_ got up and kissed her cheek.

‘Thank you, Lissy! If they’re as good as last time, I swear I might want to marry you,’ he said jokingly.

‘Oh, stop it,’ her cheeks turned pink. ‘I don’t think Laurel would approve of that, though.’ She said teasingly and Tommy just shaked his head and went to the trash to throw the paper wrapped around the muffin.

She looked at Oliver, reached inside the basket and then she opened her mouth in pretend-surprise.

‘Oh my god, I’m so sorry,’ she said sarcastically. ‘I didn’t know you were coming, so I baked a specific number and now I don’t have one for you. Well, who could blame me?! You missed the last four meetings, so…,’ she said while giving him _another_ fake smile.

‘Oh, no. Don’t worry,’ he said smiling back just as fake as she had. ‘Some of us actually take care of their bodies.’

Okay, he knew that insulting her body was low. _Her body was pretty close to perfect._ Oliver had actually bumped into her a couple of times in the gym. One of those times she had thrown a water bottle at his direction, but luckily for him, she’d missed. Apparently, his words got to her, as her mouth fell slightly open in shock and she squinted her eyes. She leaned down and stopped just a couple of inches away from his face.

‘Eat shit, Queen,’ she whispered in his face.

‘You know, I’m sure it’d taste better that those goddamn muffins of yours,’ he said.

He didn’t realize it but he had moved even closer and now they were breathing the same air. Oliver saw a spark in her angry eyes as they were moving rapidly across his face. They stopped for a second at his lips and Oliver wished he could read her mind at this moment. Then, her eyes met his again, blue looking into blue. Oliver could swear that her features softened, the anger and annoyance were gone. Before he could think about what was going on, something flicked in her eyes and she quickly woke from the trance they had been in. She stood straight and looked around. He followed her movement, eyeing the room. He saw that everyone was either talking to each other, or eating her muffins. He was glad nobody saw this moment between them because it had been weird.

‘Okay, is everyone here?’ somebody asked.

 ‘Yes, we’re all here. I think we’re good to start,’ Ray Palmer answered.

Felicity quickly reached her place next to Barry Allen and sat in her chair.

‘ _Lissy_ , huh?’ Oliver turned to look at Tommy, who was enjoying every bit of his muffin.

Oliver turned his gaze at her only to see this Allen douche pulling her chair closer to him, as she chuckled. Oliver groaned quietly. _God, help him! He couldn’t stand these people._

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The meeting was over 2 hours later and Oliver couldn’t have been happier. He left the conference room and went straight to his office.

He was supposed to have lunch with his sister, Thea, but judging by the empty room, she hadn’t arrived yet. He waited for a couple more minutes and decided to meet her on her way.

He reached the elevator only to find Felicity Smoak waiting for it to arrive. He made his way next to her and his eyes were drawn to those _hideous_ _things_ on her feet.

‘Nice shoes,’ he said. ‘Where did you get them from? My 2-year-old goddaughter has her birthday soon, and I think shoes like _that_ could be a perfect present for a little child.’ He was talking to her, leaning on the wall between the 2 elevators, trying to hold back his laughter.

‘Well, I’m glad you’re having fun,’ she looked up at him. Now that she wasn’t wearing heels, he could see how short she was next to him. She barely reached his shoulders, yet she looked so fierce. ‘I wonder if you’re still gonna be laughing when I take Unidac Industries from you.’

 _Oh, no, she didn’t!_ One of the many reasons for their constant fights was Unidac Industries. Both Queen Consolidated and Smoak Industries had been interested in buying Unidac Ind. off. There had been numerous meetings but nothing had been official. The fate of this company was going to be decided tomorrow. Tomorrow, Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak would find out who had won this battle.

‘Listen to me,’ he hissed at her. ‘If you think for a second I’m gonna let you ta-…’

‘Ollie!’

The elevator doors had opened and Thea jumped to his neck pulling him down for a hug.

‘I’m so sorry I’m late,’ she started. ‘It’s just mom made me do a couple of things and then Roy called, and later mom asked me to…’

‘Speedy, catch your breath’ he chuckled.

With the corner of his eye he saw Felicity Smoak standing awkwardly next to them. Thea followed his eyes and when she saw the other woman her eyes widened slightly and then she looked back at Oliver. He cleared his throat.

‘Thea, this is F-’

‘Felicity Smoak, I know,’ Thea said reaching to grab Felicity’s hand. ‘I’m a huge fan of yours.’

‘Oh, thank you? I guess,’ Felicity laughed uncomfortably. ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, Thea.’

‘Congratulations on your position in Vogue’s list!’ Thea said enthusiastically. In this moment, Oliver realized that his little sister genuinely admired this _devilish woman_.

‘Thank you so much!’ Felicity smiled, her eyes shining like diamonds. Then she looked quickly at Oliver and stiffened. ‘I… I have to go now. But, Thea if you ever need anything… call me or whatever.’ She said, while giving Thea a little card with her number on it.

‘Can I call you for coffee?’ Thea asked shyly. Oliver couldn’t believe it. His little sister wanted to grab coffee with his biggest opponent…

‘Yeah, sure! I’m free this weekend. Call me whenever you want,’ Felicity answered smiling and then turned to look at Oliver, her eyes cold and icy. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow at the final meeting for Unidac Industries,’ and with that she stepped into the elevator and disappeared.

‘Oh my God, Ollie, please tell me you two are hooking up!’ Thea said while poking and jumping around him. ‘This woman is a walking legend.’

_Ugh! This must be some twisted joke! How on Earth Felicity Smoak’s biggest fans happened to be his closest people?!_

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We find out who wins Unidac Industries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys!  
> First of all, I want thank all of you who take the time to read my story and like it!   
> I also want to thank my best friend Martin for being my first reader, for helping me improve some details of the story and for putting up with my obsession with Arrow/Olicity :D  
> Again, English is not my first language. If there are any grammar or vocabulary mistakes, I'm sorry.   
> Anyway, here's chapter 3. Feel free to comment and tell me what you think. If you like it, you could give me a kudo. :P   
> Happy reading ^_^

‘… And then she threw a _fucking_ water bottle in my direction!’ Oliver finished off his story as he took a bite of his burger. ‘I swear to God, that woman is a nightmare I can’t wake up from.’

He was having lunch at Big Belly Burger with Thea, Tommy and Laurel. They had been planning to do so for a long time, but they had all been very busy. Laurel had become an assistant district attorney, Tommy was running Merlyn Global along with his father, and Thea was taking care of her nightclub Verdant.

‘Ollie, you sound so in love,’ Laurel remarked as she smiled sweetly at him.

‘Hey, I don’t so-’, he tried protesting but was cut short by Thea.

‘I know,’ she added teasingly and turned to face him. ‘You should totally hook up with her.’

‘Okay, who told you what ‘hook up’ means? You’re too young to be talking about such things,’ he said pointing a finger in her direction.

‘Dude, she’s 20,’ Tommy opposed him while chewing his bite. ‘When you were her age, you-’

‘Don’t talk while you’re eating,’ Laurel poked his ribs with her elbow. ‘You’re gonna choke!’

Tommy rolled his eyes and swallowed. He opened his mouth in Laurel’s direction to show her he had no food in there anymore causing her to laugh slightly.

‘Seriously, though, we’ve been listening to you talk about her for an hour. You have a crush on her,’ he simply stated.

‘I’ve been _complaining_ about her, how on Earth does that mean I have a crush on her?’ Oliver couldn’t believe it. ‘She talks too much, she makes sarcastic comments, her ego is too big and she’s not even that pretty.’

‘Enough,’ Laurel said and hit the table with her fist to shut him up. ‘You’re behaving like a 13-year-old teenage boy who doesn’t know how to approach his crush so he starts insulting her.’

‘She’s actually pretty lovely,’ Thea said and turned to talk to Laurel and Tommy. ‘I met her yesterday and we’re meeting for coffee next week. Laurel, you’re gonna love her.’

‘Tommy why don’t you invite her over dinner?’ Laurel asked her boyfriend. ‘That way I can meet her, and _Ollie_ can figure out a way to ask her out. Maybe he’ll have bigger balls in a more informal atmosphere.’

Tommy and Thea stared laughing at her comment, while Oliver growled.

‘I’m sorry. Are you all drunk? Am I the only one that’s sober here?’ he asked incredulously. ‘Do you hear yourselves? She’s the most insufferable person ever.’ He leaned closer to the table and lowered his voice. ‘One time, I spaced out for a second and I hadn’t even realized it but, _apparently_ , my eyes had accidentally dropped to her… um…to her ass. She saw me and started yelling at me! Just because I had unconsciously looked at her ass! Can you believe it?’

‘Oh, yeah, she must be crazy for not wanting you looking at her ass,’ Laurel said sarcastically.

‘Right, and she was definitely wearing that tight little skirt so that I wouldn’t look at her ass,’ he remarked with the same sarcasm as her.

For a moment Tommy, Laurel and Thea stood quietly, exchanged looks and then started laughing at the same time. Oliver let out a heavy sigh as his friends continued to tease him.

‘I don’t even know why I came here with you. I’m _so_ not paying today. My lunch is on you.’

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Oliver was running late. _Shit!_ After lunch with his friends he had returned to Queen Consolidated and had accidentally fallen asleep on his couch. Becky had woken him up in a hurry, saying he was late. Oliver had jumped up, and gone straight to the bathroom to fix himself quickly and had run down to the parking. He had no time to wait for Diggle, so he took his black and shiny Bentley and drove off. He was driving too fast, ignoring any speed limits but he didn’t even think about it. All he could think about was how Felicity was probably charming their potential sellers. He had prepared a speech for what he was going to say, to make them sell the company to him. Unidac Industries was a company that had fallen, but he knew he could make it rise again. He had ideas and plans... and he had overslept. _Fuck_! As much as he hated it, he had to admit that Felicity was a smart girl herself and she probably had her own plans and ideas. Him being late, would give her more time to talk to the current owners in private… He arrived 35 minutes late and parked quickly. Just as he reached the elevator, he saw Felicity and her assistant Jerry waiting for it. She was nervously tapping her foot and Jerry was as pale as sheet standing two feet away from her. _YES!_ So she was late too. And judging by the look on Jerry’s face, she had snapped at him earlier. Oliver reached her and took a deep breath to let her acknowledge his presence. She looked up at him and her eyes widened.

‘What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at the meeting already?’

‘Aren’t you?’ he answered grinning at her to which she rolled her eyes. An awkward silence filled the air, the only sound was Jerry’s fingers tapping on his tablet.

The elevator doors opened up and Felicity and Oliver rushed into it pushing each other.

‘Watch it!’ he hissed at her.

‘I don’t have time for your bullshit, Queen!’ she growled back. ‘I’ve got a company to win.’

‘Did a fortune-teller tell you that or did you read it in your horoscope?’

 ‘Well, I can see time hasn’t changed you.’ She paused before she added: ‘You’re still not funny!’

‘But it has changed you… you’re uglier.’ he said and grinned at her. _God, he loved making her angry._ Seeing the change in her expression, made him satisfied with himself… _Even though deep down, he knew he didn’t mean it._

Just as she was about to answer back, Jerry went in, followed by at least six more people. Suddenly, the elevator got a little too small. Oliver was pushed into the wall, with Felicity’s back pushed into his front. Jerry was right next to him and the people that had arrived were talking loudly and were gesturing animatedly. Oliver couldn’t help but feel her ass pressed into his thighs, her shoulders rubbing his chest. He took a deep breath, and he took in the sweet smell of her perfume. _Vanilla orchid._ He liked it. He leaned just a little bit closer to her.

‘What do you think you’re doing?’ he heard her whispering, while her body stilled.

He quickly pulled away and pressed himself more into the wall to distance himself from her. _Not that it was possible in this stuffed elevator._ The doors opened and half of the people left. Now that there was more space she stepped closer to Jerry and he moved to the other side of the elevator. He quickly glanced at her direction and saw her trying to calm her breathing while smoothing out her ponytail.

They reached the 20th floor and quickly got out of the elevator. The three of them rushed to the conference room where the board and sellers were waiting visibly irritated.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Oliver had been sitting nervously for two hours, tapping his fingers on his thighs. Diggle had arrived an hour ago and was trying his best to calm him down.

The meeting went just as he had supposed it would. He was supporting the statement that he would do a better job running the company, while _she_ was doing the opposite. That went on for an hour. Then they were asked to wait for a while, so that the board would make their final decision… _Two hours! It’s been two fucking hours!_ He growled and leaned back into the sofa just outside the conference room.

‘Where did Felicity go?’ Diggle asked.

‘I don’t really give a fuck about her.’ Oliver answered. After waiting for a minute or two he spoke again: ‘She went to have dinner with her assistant.’

‘Why didn’t you go with them?’

Oliver gave him a look that said ‘Seriously?’.

‘Look, Oliver, I don’t know what’s your problem with Felicity, but she’s actually a nice person. I mean, how can you not see it?’

 _Oh, he could see it_. He knew her better than they thought. He’d spent one of the best nights in his life with her. He had shared things about himself and so had she and they had bonded. He had felt a connection with her, a connection he hadn’t felt with anyone. And he was certain that she had felt the same way. His life back then, it wasn’t good and he knew it. In the midst of all of his bad decisions, scandals and fallouts with people, he had met her, and even if it was for one night, she had made him feel good. Happy. Complete. The way she had been looking at him that night, the spark in her eyes, he had felt like he could do anything… So, yeah, he knew she was a nice person. Just not towards him anymore. It was something he had to remind himself of everyday.

A couple of minutes later, Felicity and her assistant walked into the hall. She initiated a small talk with Diggle, while Jerry sat on the sofa, next to Oliver.

‘Mr. Queen? Ms. Smoak? Please, welcome back to the conference room.’ A voice called them.

Oliver felt his stomach tighten, while his heart started pounding faster in his chest. He followed Felicity back in the room, along with Diggle and Jerry, and took a seat across her.

‘Thank you both, again, for your interest in our company,’ the head of the board started. ‘And our sincere apology for making you wait for so long for an answer.’

Oliver rubbed his already sweaty palms together before wiping them on his pants. He looked at Felicity who was looking calm. But he knew her better and he saw how her jaw had clenched and she was doing a weird thing with her eyebrows. Jerry was holding the tablet to his chest, anticipation written on his face. When he met Diggle’s gaze, he saw his friend smiling reassuring at him, his eyes telling him it was going to be okay. Oliver returned the gesture and brought his attention back to the man speaking.

‘After an extremely heavy debate, which lasted for over 2 hours, we have finally made a decision. Let me start by saying, that our board is certain that, you two, are the best people to make business with. Mr. Queen, your company has endless financial resources- something that could be very beneficial in the rise of UI.’ Oliver took a quick glance at Felicity’s direction only to see her stiffen in her seat, visibly uncomfortable. _Good!_ ‘Ms. Smoak, your charisma and ability to do business is just so natural and unique!’ Oliver let out a quiet ‘pfft’ under his breath. _Unique, his ass._ ‘We have chosen the thing that would be best for Unidac. From its’ founding to present days Unidac Industries has always had a great CEO ahead of it.’

‘Except for your last one,’ Jerry said with an amused tone. ‘I mean, that’s why you’re selling the company, right?’

Everybody looked at the man who had been quiet till now. Oliver noticed Felicity shooting him a quick ‘WTF-Jerry-Shut-up’ look.

‘It’s about time it was run by _two_ magnificent CEOs,’ the man in front them continued. Oliver stood still, his eyes finding Felicity’s. _What did that mean?_ ‘This means, both Queen Consolidated and Smoak Industries, will get 50% of the stocks each. You, Miss Smoak and Mister Queen, will work together, side by side, for the well-being of this company. Congratulations!’ The man finished off with a small smile.

Oliver didn’t understand. _What?_ That did not go as expected. This was a shock to everyone in the room judging by their reactions. He glanced at Diggle who looked just as surprised. Jerry’s mouth had fallen open slightly and Felicity… _oh, no_! She was looking as if she wanted to kill someone. _Oh, boy_ …

‘Mr. Edison, I’m sorry but I don’t understand’ she started as she chuckled humorlessly. ‘Not that I doubt or oppose your decision, or anything, but with all due respect, Mister Queen is not suitable for this position.’

‘Says who?!’ Oliver couldn’t hold it in. He had had enough of her shit. ‘ _You_? Who do you think you are?’

‘I am someone who has worked very hard to get to where I am,’ she raised her voice with every word. ‘I _actually_ worked my ass off, day and night. I’ve been paying for everything with money I’ve earned. I _wasn’t given_ a company just like that! ... Unlike you!’

‘You don’t know a damn thing, Smoak.’ He gritted his teeth.

‘Oh, no. _YOU_ don’t know a damn thing, _Queen_ ,’ she said emphasizing on his name and turned to the sellers, who were looking rather uncomfortable. ‘Look, I am the best choice you have here. I know how this business works. I know what sells on the market and what doesn’t. I know what to do for this company’s growth, simply because I try my best to please people’s wishes.’

‘You certainly tried your best to please _my_ wishes on our night together.’ Oliver blurted.

_Shit!_

He had never told anyone how Felicity and he actually met and, knowing her, she probably hadn’t talked about it either… Now he accidentally told the whole board of Unidac Industries, Diggle and Jerry. Well, go big or go home, they say.

An awkward silence filled the air. No one from the board said a word, instead they just tried to pretend they weren’t there, as if they were invisible. Diggle’s eyebrows were furrowed in disbelief and question. Jerry was staring at Felicity with his mouth wide open. And Felicity… if looks could kill, Oliver would’ve been a dead man already. Embarrassment written all over her face, her eyes filled with anger and hatred.

‘Listen here, you piece of shi-’, she growled at him but got interrupted.

‘Enough!’ Mr. Edison stopped them. ‘Our decision is final. Unidac Industries needs both Smoak Industries and Queen Consolidated’s help. We won’t succeed with just QC or SI. We need the brilliant ideas that Miss Smoak has presented and the financial support Mr. Queen can provide. If you can’t work out your issues, then we’re really sorry, but neither of you will get the company. We might have to turn to Palmer Tech or…’

‘NO!’ both Felicity and Oliver said at the same time. They looked at each other for a long moment.

Oliver couldn’t read her expression. It was a mixture of rage, defeat, acceptance, irritation. He was about to tell the board that he’s leaving, when…

‘We’ll do it,’ she said quietly.

Oliver looked at her again with incredulity. Were they really going to put their issues aside in order to achieve something bigger? Would she forgive him for the things he’d done? Would he forgive _her_ for the things she’d done? ... Mr. Edison looked at him in question, expecting an answer. Oliver cleared his throat.

‘Yes, we… um… we’ll do it.’

Half an hour later everything was finalized, all the documents were signed and Unidac Industries was transferred to Queen Consolidated and Smoak Industries...

The air in the elevator, while they were going down, was filled with tension. Oliver was in one corner, Felicity in the other. Jerry and Diggle were used as human shields separating them from each other.

‘So…,’ Jerry said. ‘Congratulations to both of you!’

Oliver saw Felicity side-eyeing him. She loudly exhaled and turned her back on all of them, facing the wall...

After Diggle drove him off, Oliver headed straight to the mansion’s library, where he kept his favorite Scotch hidden in one of the drawers. His mother hated it when he was drunk, so he decided he was going to spend the night in the library and get wasted. He fucking needed it after today’s turn of events. He was going to work with Felicity Smoak! _Felicity Smoak!_ The woman who despised him more than anything. The woman he couldn’t stand being around for more than 2 minutes… He poured himself some and took a sip. _God_ … What had he gotten himself into? How was this thing going to work out? He had no fucking idea. He sighed heavily and drank the whole glass at once, then poured some more.

‘Careful, kid. You don’t want your mother to see you like this.’

Oliver turned to face Slade Wilson, who put a book on one of the shelves and sat in a chair next to Oliver.

Two years after his father had died, his mother started dating Slade Wilson. He was just another rich businessman in Starling, but he was different than the others. While most of the people out there were kiss-asses and were cautious of how they looked and what they said, Slade was the exactly opposite. He was rude, and honest and didn’t keep anything to himself. Which was one of the many reasons he was generally disliked by Starling City’s elite. Oliver had met him a long time ago through his father. At first he hated him too, but as time passed he just got used to Slade being his rude self. He was mean and vulgar but he was different with Oliver’s mother and sister. After Robert Queen had died, Slade was a great support to the Queens. He had always had feelings for Moira and when she felt ready, they had started a romantic relationship. He took care of Thea as if she was his own daughter. He spoiled her and joked around with her...

‘Tough day?’ Slade asked with a grin as he poured some Scotch in a glass for himself.

‘You have no idea!’ Oliver said as he sunk into the other chair.

 …As for him, Slade treated him as a friend. They were men, they knew each other. Slade always knew what Oliver needed. He gave him advice at times, and called him out on his bullshit at others.

‘Cheers, kid. Bottoms up!’ Slade said as they clinked their glasses.

Right now, Slade knew he needed a drinking partner. He was going to be that for him, and when they were sober, they’d talk. But in order to get sober, they had to get drunk first.

   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know... Slade and Moira. I just like Slade's character too much and wanted him to be a part of Oliver's journey in this story. :D  
> And, oh, boy, shit's about to go down between Oliver and Felicity. :D  
> I hope you liked it. ^_^


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Felicity get caught in interesting positions... It's not what you think *wink*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, beautiful people!  
> First of all, I want to thank Victoria for the lovely poster she made for the fic. You can find it on my tumblr because I don't know how to put it here :D Next time, I'll have it here too (hopefully).   
> Secondly, thanks to my best buddy Martin for being my first reader and for giving me his opinion and advice. Much appreciated, bru *wink* <3  
> Last but not least, I want to thank all of you who take the time to read my story. I enjoy writing it so much, and I really hope you like it.  
> If there are any mistakes, my apologies....  
> Happy reading! ^_^

Oliver hadn’t left the house for three days straight. He slept late, and stayed mostly in his room, watching some lame shows on TV, trying to take his mind off things. As hard as he tried paying attention to the screen, his head was full of thoughts about his situation with Felicity Smoak. He was thinking about how if they hadn’t met five years ago, everything would’ve been different now. They would have started clean and it wouldn’t bother him if he had to work with her. Now, it was impossible, as they didn’t agree on anything. _She was so stubborn and opinionated!_ _Why couldn’t she just let it go?_ When he found out she was going to be a CEO last year, he wanted for them to be friends but soon he changed his mind about that. Thanks to one of Felicity’s many comments about QC being run by an ‘ex-playboy who barely got a degree’, Oliver had lost the biggest investors he had ever had the opportunity to work with. That was the moment he realised that being friends with her was not an option. From that moment on, the hate had been mutual, as they had shaded each other publically whenever they could.

After years of living with Oliver Queen, his family knew better and let him have his privacy. They could see that something was disturbing him but they decided to wait till he comes to them. The morning after his drinking night with Slade was particularly heavy for Oliver. He had woken up with the worst hangover and could barely say a word. Slade hadn’t been that drunk and he could see that Oliver wasn’t in his best condition so he had left him alone with the promise of a talk later.

Three days after the hangover, Oliver decided it was time for him to come face to face with his family. He got out of bed and took a quick shower, before putting on a plain white T-shirt and grey sweatpants. He went to the kitchen downstairs just in time for breakfast.

‘My, my!’ Slade greeted him. ‘Look who decided to finally join us.’

‘Oh, Oliver!’ his mother smiled at him. ‘Good morning!’

‘Good morning.’ Oliver kissed her cheek. ‘Where’s Thea?’

‘She’ll be here any minute,’ Slade patted his back as he put a mug for him on the table. 

They all settled in their seats as their maid Raisa brought them their breakfast. To Oliver’s delight, it was croissants, scrambled eggs, with bacon and cucumbers. There was a plate with chocolate-chip pancakes and white chocolate syrup, which he supposed was for Thea. She sat with them a couple of minutes later and they started talking about everything and nothing.

‘So, Oliver… are you going to tell us what happened?’ Slade turned to Oliver all of a sudden.

He did not see that coming. They were debating over whether Thea should drive her car to school or not, when Slade just popped the question. Suddenly, everything was still and silent. Oliver felt anxious as Slade, his mother and Thea all expected an answer from him. He cleared his throat.

‘Did you lose Unidac Industries?’ Slade asked after Oliver’s silence. _Jesus! Insistent man!_

‘Slade…’ Moira shot him a look, to which he just shrugged his shoulders innocently.

‘No, I didn’t. I won it.’ Oliver simply stated.

‘Oh, dear! I’m so proud of you!’ Moira got up and went to hug him.

‘There’s a ‘but’, isn’t there?’ Slade asked with an almost amused look on his face.

‘Well,’ Oliver once again cleared his throat. ‘QC has 50% of the stocks and Smoak Industries has the rest.’

‘I don’t understand’ Thea said looking confused.

‘It means that Oliver and Miss Smoak are both going to be CEOs’ Slade explained to her.

‘Oh my God!’ Thea squeaked. ‘You’re going to work with Felicity?’

‘Yes, I will be working with… _Miss Smoak_.’ Oliver said as he took a bite of his croissant.

‘Well, dear, as far as I’ve seen she’s doing a great job,’ Moira said after sipping her coffee. ‘I think that you two are among the best CEOs in America under 30. Give it a couple of years, and I can see Unidac being on top.’

_A couple of years? ….. A couple of years! They could barely be in the same room for more than two hours._

‘This is so cool!’ Thea looked pretty excited. ‘You know, I had coffee with her yesterday afternoon. She is amazing. She’s so smart and funny. She offered to take me shopping to Paris next month.’

‘She seems responsible enough, but Thea, we can’t let you…’ Slade started, but was interrupted by Thea making her infamous puppy eyes at him. ‘That’s… We’ll think about it.’

‘She’s a pain in the ass,’ Oliver finally spoke. ‘I… she won’t listen to what I have to say. She will be making decisions without even consulting with me! I can see it coming. She’s too independent and she doesn’t have the best opinion on me as well.’

‘Why? What happened between you two?’ his mother asked.

Oliver just silently chewed his food, showing his family that he wasn’t going to talk about his one night stand with Felicity. How could he? How could he talk about what he’d done with and to her? In front of his oh-so-classy mother, in front of his _little_ sister.

‘Moira, honey, the news are about to start.’ Slade said and kissed Moira’s hand, rescuing him from Moira’s potential interrogation.

She turned the TV on just in time for the news. Oliver really hated watching news, but his mother enjoyed it. It was very beneficial for him to know what’s going on around the world as well. And well, this was much better than being asked about his relationship with Felicity Smoak.

‘This morning the press released a statement saying that Unidac Industries had been won over by Queen Consolidated and Smoak Industries. Miss Felicity Smoak was seen walking in her company’s building but did not give a comment and decided to stay silent.’ Oliver looked at the video of Felicity barely making her way through the paparazzi and media. People from all directions were shouting at her- telling her to smile for a photo, bombarding her with questions about work or her personal life. She was just smiling politely but Oliver could see the nervousness in the way her lower lip trembled slightly. ‘With those news, Unidac Industries released an announcement that new positions for their science department were being opened…’

The sound from the TV faded. Oliver couldn’t focus on another word. _WHAT?_ Unidac didn’t have a science department, unless… _That woman!_ She had somehow succeeded in setting up a science department… In three days! _Three fucking days!_ He felt the anger rush through his veins, he could feel his jaw clenching and his eyes going darker. What he thought would happen, really happened and he was not happy about it. _How fucking dare she?_ She had done that WITHOUT asking him. He wanted to kill her.

‘Oliver, did you know about this?’ Moira turned to look at him. ‘This is an amazing idea and it’s an opportunity for so many people!’

Oliver just smiled with his jaw clenched. It was high time he went to work. Apparently, a lot had happened in those three days and he needed to catch up with it ASAP. He sent a quick text to Diggle asking him to pick him up.

‘Well, breakfast was great. I will go upstairs now to get ready for work.’ He excused himself off the table.

He kissed his mother’s cheek and Thea’s forehead and nodded at the other man.

‘Have fun at work today, kid. Make smart choices,’ Slade said mockingly with a cheeky wink, causing Oliver to roll his eyes.

He felt that it was going to be a _long_ day, and probably neither one of Slade’s wishes would be fulfilled.

 

 

The moment Diggle arrived at the Queen mansion to pick him up, Oliver muttered ‘Smoak Industries’ through gritted teeth. He got in the backseat and waited for Diggle to settle in the car and start it.

Half an hour later they were driving around Starling, Diggle looking for the shortest way to SI. Oliver was trying his best not to show just how angry he was with Felicity Smoak. He was trying to think of ways to confront her like an adult, but instead all he could imagine was his hands at her throat. He was trying to remain as calm as possible, but instead the more he thought about the situation, the angrier he became.

‘FUUUUUUUUUCK!’ he yelled, which was followed by him kicking Digg’s seat from behind.

‘Damn it, Oliver,’ Digg almost jumped from his friend’s sudden burst of emotions. ‘Don’t kick my seat. And don’t scare me like that. I might lose control and cause an accident.’

‘I’m sorry, it’s just…’ Oliver sighed. He rubbed his hands through his hair in a pathetic attempt to relax.

Lucky for him, they were soon parked right in front of SI. They got in the elevator and pressed the button for the 20th floor, where _her_ office was. Oliver cracked his neck a couple of times.

‘Damn, man, if I didn’t know better I’d think you’re going to kick someone’s ass, literally’ John chuckled next to him.

_Oh, he had no idea!_

They reached her floor and Oliver stormed in without hesitation.

‘Mister Queen!’ he was greeted by Jerry who stepped in front of him. ‘Loving the tie! Where did you get it from?’ _That fucker was trying to stop him from going into her office._

‘Jerry, move!’ Oliver said in a low voice.

‘I… I can’t,’ the other man bit his lower lip. ‘Miss Felicity is currently busy in her office and she already has another visitor waiting for her and I don’t thi-’

‘Jerry….’ Oliver repeated almost in a whisper. A very scary whisper that made Jerry swallow hard. ‘Move.’

‘Look, I would let you in but…’

Apparently, he wasn’t on Oliver’s side, so Oliver decided to help himself in.

‘Mr. Queen! You can’t go…’

‘What are you going to do about it?’ Oliver interrupted him. He walked a couple more steps, when he saw Barry Allen in the sofa in front of her door. So this was her other visitor…

‘Oliver! Hey.’ The other man greeted him with a genuine smile on his face. _What a nerd._

Oliver nodded coolly and sat next to him on the sofa. A couple of minutes of awkward silence followed, but for their sakes Felicity got out of her office pretty quickly, all smiley and giddy.

‘Barry! What are you doi-,’ she started talking until she saw Oliver. She bit her lip and tried to conceal her nervousness, but Oliver saw through her little act. He got up on his feet and approached her stepping into her private space.

‘What the fuck do you think you’re doing?’ he growled at her, as he narrowed his eyes.

‘I… now it’s not… not a good time to talk abo-’

‘Bullshit!’ he yelled at her. He opened his mouth to talk but then quickly closed it as he realised that Allen, John and Jerry were right there with them.

‘Barry, is there anything I can do to help you?’ she turned to Allen, who was standing awkwardly behind Oliver.

‘Yes, actually, I…’ he started. ‘You see, my computer broke down or… something. I don’t even know.’

Felicity laughed lightly at that. Oliver burrowed his eyebrows _. It wasn’t even that funny!_ Why was she laughing?

‘I was wondering if you could come by to check it out. See what’s wrong… If you can, of course.’

‘Yes, let me grab my pur-’

‘Um, no.’ Oliver grabbed her elbow. ‘You and I have things to discuss.’

‘I told you! Not now.’ A threatening look on her face. ‘Let go of me.’

Oliver let out a humorless chuckle.

‘Fine, we’ll talk when you’re not busy…’ He let go of her arm. ‘But till then, I’m stuck to you like glue.’

‘What did you say?’ she looked up at him with angry eyes.

‘You heard me. I’ll follow you around till you’re free to talk.’

They argued for a couple of minutes. Oliver didn’t back down and they ended up with Diggle driving them to Star Labs, where Barry’s computer was. Barry was next to Diggle in the passenger’s seat and Oliver and Felicity were sitting in the backseat. _If that wasn’t the most awkward car drive._

Suddenly, Oliver felt a sharp pain in his thigh and looked down. He flinched at the sight of Felicity’s nails dug into his flesh through the pants. In one swift move, he grabbed her leg and pulled it hard to him. She hissed and reached over to pull his tie. In the midst of this physical fight they’d gotten into, Oliver suddenly realised they weren’t moving and that the car was still. At the same time, he and Felicity looked up to see Barry’s shocked face and Diggle’s amused one. They were at a red light. Oliver suddenly became conscious about their position and what it probably looked like. Her leg was in his lap, his one hand grabbing her hip, while the other was dug into her hair; one of her hands was pulling his tie, as the other was pushing his chest. Oliver thought that in any other situation, that pose would probably be hot, and would lead to much, _much_ better things.

‘Oh my God,’ Diggle laughed. ‘You two are like kids.’

‘Hey!’ Oliver pointed his finger at his friend’s direction. ‘She started first!’

Felicity quickly released his tie, and pushed herself at the other end of the car, putting much needed space between them.

When they arrived at Star Labs Felicity quickly jumped out of the car.

‘C’mon,’ she said as she grabbed Allen’s hand and together they started running towards the entrance.

 _That woman!_ Was she trying to get rid of him? Not on Oliver’s watch! He pulled Diggle and the two of them raced till they finally caught up with Barry and Felicity. When she saw them, Oliver heard her exhale loudly as she rolled her eyes. Oliver just grinned at her direction, because he was so not going to leave her alone till they talked.

They reached Allen’s room and he quickly explained how the computer shut down all of a sudden and how it wouldn’t start. _Well, no wonder_ , Oliver thought. The computer was probably from the time of the Civil War. The monitor was on his desk and Oliver could see a thin layer of dust. The computer box was under the desk, and Allen confessed to kicking it by accident from time to time. Oliver rolled his eyes wondering how the fuck did he even get laid. How had he managed to get _THE Felicity Smoak_ in bed? Well, Oliver wasn’t sure if they were dating or sleeping or anything at all, and, honestly, he couldn’t care less. His thoughts drifted to his own one night stand with her, and he found it weird how both he and Allen had probably been with her. Boy, that thought was certainly awkward. He looked over at Allen, and imagined him kissing Felicity on the lips, then jaw, and neck, going lower and lower and...

 _Stop it!_ He shivered at those weird thoughts and then looked at Felicity who was currently on all-fours under the desk, checking the computer box. Oliver swallowed hard at the sight of her with her back bent downwards, while her ass was out, the jeans stretching so nicely, hugging her curves. _Damn!_ He knew she worked out and he had seen how nice her ass was before, but this position really complimented it, showing how firm, toned and round it was. Oliver felt his pants growing tighter. _Shit! Not now, not with her!_ He tried to look away, but he couldn’t. She let out quiet but heavy sighs and moans from the struggle of being down there, much to Oliver’s displeasure. Well, to be honest, it was quite the opposite, but it wasn’t welcome in the current situation. He quickly glided his hand through the front of his pants to fix and adjust them as much as he could. He sneaked a look in Allen’s direction and saw the _fucking_ kid checking her out as well, with a slightly opened mouth. He was scratching his neck with one hand, while rubbing the side of his thigh with the other. _What a fucking loser!_ Seeing that was enough for Oliver to gain his self-control back and he cleared his throat, making Allen look at him.

‘Close your mouth and wipe that drool off, will you?’ Oliver’s biting remark left Allen blushing furiously.

‘Oh my God, Barry, you adorable dork!’ Felicity exclaimed, finally getting up. ‘Your cable isn’t plugged. That’s why you couldn’t turn it on!’ she laughed.

‘What?’ Allen looked confused and Oliver huffed. _What a fucking idiot!_

‘Well, it must’ve slipped out! Maybe it wasn’t plugged well. It’s all good now. You can start your computer.’

‘Hey, Felicity! Thank you so much!’ Barry Allen walked up to her and hugged her tight. ‘I owe you! Let me buy you dinner some time.’

 _Little fucker!_ So that’s what this was about! Oliver knew Allen was a smart guy, he probably remembered to check the cable, but decided to play dumb to get Felicity here. Oh, that’s… pretty smart, actually!

As Oliver walked out of Star Labs with Felicity Smoak, he had every intention to follow her around the whole day. His phone buzzed in his pocket, reminding him that today was John’s daughter’s birthday and he had to go home to get ready and pick up Thea. John drove straight to SI to drop Felicity off.

‘What happened to being stuck like a glue to me?’ she said sarcastically as she got out of the car and leaned on it to face Oliver.

‘You got away now, but this isn’t over!’ Oliver warned her. ‘You owe me an explanation.’

With those words, Oliver closed his door and told Diggle to go. As they were leaving, he couldn’t help himself and sneaked a glance at her through the wing mirror and much to his surprise, she was still there following the car with her gaze…

 

 

Oliver was wandering around the house looking for somebody to talk to. John and Lyla’s house was full of people celebrating Sara’s second birthday, but much to Oliver’s dislike, he knew very few of them. There were some of John’s old friends from the military, some of Lyla’s colleagues, a couple of children, some of the family’s neighbors. Laurel and Tommy were currently talking to Laurel’s sister Sara, Thea was messing around with the children while John and Lyla were walking around the guests trying to keep them entertained. Oliver sat on the couch and let his eyelids fall shut. At that moment, the door bell rung and Oliver jumped slightly. He looked around but apparently no one was headed to open the door.

‘Oliver!’ Lyla called while carrying little Sara. ‘Could you… open the door, my hands are busy, and Billy made a mess in the kitchen. I have to go and…’

‘It’s fine, Lyla,’ Oliver smiled reassuringly at her and stood up.

He headed to open the door and when he did, his eyes and mouth widened at the sight. Felicity Smoak! What the hell was she doing there? His eyes quickly scanned her from head to toe to take in the way the tight red dress looked on her body. Her hair was down in soft curls, looking even more blonde from the light of the street lamp.

‘You!’ was all he could say.

She just hissed and walked in, going around him.

‘What are you doing here? Who told you?’

‘John invited me, you idiot!’

‘He would never!’ _Would he?_

‘Felicity, hi!’ Diggle came in the corridor and pulled her in for a hug.

‘Hey, Digg! Where’s the little birthday girl? I got her a present I’m sure she’ll love!’ she said with a smile, and a dimple appeared on the side of her cheek.

‘Felicity, you didn’t have to!’ John answered.

‘HEY!’ Oliver raised his voice slightly to get their attention. ‘What is she doing here?’

‘Umm, _she_ standing right next to you,’ Felicity said before Diggle could reply.

‘I know. What I don’t know is why?’

‘Damn it!’ Diggle cursed. ‘Can you not do this here? In my home? On my daughter’s birthday party?’

‘Sorry.’ They both said at the same time.

They walked in and John quickly announced Felicity’s arrival.

‘So, you’re Felicity!’ Oliver saw Sara approaching them, as they stood next to the kitchen door.

‘Yes, that’s me! I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.’

‘Because we haven’t met before. I’m Sara.’

‘Sara? You’re not Digg’s daughter are you? You can’t be. Right?’ Felicity said nervously.

‘No. I’m Sara Lance. Laurel’s sister.’ she said while chuckling.

‘Oh, right!’ Felicity extended her hand as Sara Lance took it. ‘It’s kind of confusing with all those same names.’

‘Well, I was in a very tragic car crash two years ago. Everyone thought I was dead, and Diggle decided to name his baby girl after me’, Sara smiled and Oliver saw the sadness in her eyes at the painful memory that crossed her mind.

‘Felicity, welcome!’ Lyla greeted her and hugged her.

‘Hey, Lyla! Where’s the birthday girl? I’m dying to show her my present.’

‘What did you get her?’ Sara asked curiously.

‘Custom made panda flats for a two-year old. They’re Chanel. Karl owed me a favor.’ she looked up to meet Oliver’s eyes, and titled her head slightly to one side, as if she was challenging him.

 _That woman!_ He remembered making fun of her shoes, and saying that they fit a two-year old. Apparently, she took his ‘advice’ and used it against him.

‘Oh my God, Felicity. You didn’t have to.’ Lyla hugged her tighter. ‘She’s in the kitchen trying to eat her piece of cake. I’ll take you to her.’ She said and grabbed Felicity by the hand.

‘Well done, Ollie!’ Sara smirked at him.

‘What do you mean?’

‘Isn’t she the girl you’re into?’

‘Um… no? Who told you that?’ Oliver burrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

‘Laurel.’

Oliver rolled his eyes. _Why did people think he likes her?_ It was quite the contrary.

‘Well, she’s wrong. This woman is a nightmare.’

‘Good to hear… If I were single, I’d go after that, though.’

Given the fact that he’d slept with Sara, Oliver often forgot that she was bi, and currently had a girlfriend. He frowned at Sara’s last words; even though the thought of her and Felicity making out was kind of turning him on, there was something wrong about it and he didn’t like it.

‘Yeah, well, she’s into guys.’

‘You sure?’

 _Definitely! I’ve slept with her_ , he thought but decided to keep it to himself.

‘Oh, yeah! I think she’s dating Barry Allen.’

‘Lucky guy!’ Sara said. ‘Can you imagine that ass out of the dress?’

 _Well, I’ve seen it_ , Oliver thought but didn’t say it out loud again.

‘This conversation is getting pretty weird, Sara.’ Oliver said.

‘C’mon, Ollie,’ she laughed. ‘I’m just messing with you!’

‘Sure you are,’ he laughed back and gave her a quick wink.

It was high time he and Felicity Smoak had that talk about Unidac Industries. He went straight to the kitchen and found her holding baby Sara while singing to her. Lyla and her colleagues had surrounded her and were all singing with her, trying to keep the birthday girl entertained.

‘Hey!’ he said sharply to get her attention. She turned around, her smile immediately dropped. ‘We need to talk.’

‘Now?! Give me break!’

‘Yes! Now!’

She sighed heavily and passed Sara to Lyla, who gave her a sympathetic smile. _What the hell did that mean?_ Oliver went upstairs with her following him. He went in the first room he saw, which happened to be Digg and Lyla’s bedroom. He closed the door behind Felicity and turned around to face her. They stared at each other for a long moment, before she raised her eyebrows.

‘So?’ she finally spoke. ‘You wanted to talk, talk then.’

‘You owe me an explanation.’

‘I don’t owe you shit!’

‘God, fucking damn it! Why didn’t you ask me? At least warned me about it? I would’ve most likely agreed with you!’ he yelled at her.

‘Why are you making a problem out of it, if you would have agreed with me?’ she yelled back.

‘Damn it, Smoak! It’s not about the idea itself!’ he unconsciously moved closer to tower over her. She, however, didn’t back down. She stood tall and waited for him to talk. ‘It’s about the fact that we’re partners now! Believe me, I don’t like it any more than you do, but it is what it is! We make the decisions together.’

‘Hey! Don’t you dare blame me! I waited for you the day after the decision was made! You, however, decided not to show up!’

‘Who the fuck makes such vital decisions on the first or second or even third day after they get a company?’ he asked incredulously.

‘I do! Because that’s what a motivated and successful CEO would do! Not that you would know.’

‘You could’ve called!’ he said and saw hesitation in her eyes.

‘I… don’t have your number.’

‘Couldn’t you hack something to get it? I thought you had decent computer skills! Didn’t you go to MIT?’ he felt his anger grow stronger and stronger. ‘Didn’t you have a Master’s degree? Did you sleep with a professor as well to get it?’ he knew he crossed a line with the last sentence.

Her eyes widened with shock and her hand shot up to slap him. Fortunately for him, his instincts were faster and he grabbed her wrist. She repeated her action with the other hand, again with no result, as he quickly caught it mid-air. She struggled to push him away from herself but he wouldn’t let her.

‘Let me go, you asshole!’ she yelled at him.

She walked backwards in an attempt to pull away but before she knew it her legs hit the bed and she lost her balance. She fell on her back, catching him by surprise, dragging him down with her. He dropped on top of her and she shouted from the sudden weight that was now on her. He pushed up slightly to see her face, his hands still holding hers above her head on the sheets. He took the time to look at her, the way her hair was messily sprawled out on the bed sheets, the way her cheeks were now red, her eyes fixated on him.

Memories from five years ago flooded his mind, making his grip on her hands tighten. She panted underneath him, but much to his surprise, she didn’t try to push him away, and instead she angled her hands to grab the sheets. _That woman!_ Oliver wanted to kill her, and kiss her at the same time, and he didn’t even know how that was possible. He swallowed, and felt her inhaling sharply, his breath ghosted her face. His eyes once again met the intensity in hers, blue staring into blue, and Oliver saw how her pupils dilated. _That woman!_

Just as he had made his mind to lean down and capture her lips with his, the door opened and Thea and Tommy walked in.

‘Oh my God!’ Thea exclaimed.

Oliver was laying on top of Felicity with her hands grabbing the sheets, his face centimeters away from hers. He could only imagine what their position looked like. Just as he was about to talk, Felicity pushed him next to her and she quickly got up and straightened her dress.

‘I… it’s not what it looks like.’ She said.

Tommy and Thea just shared a look and smirked.

‘No, really! It’s not what you think!’ she continued. ‘Unless you think that we were in the middle of a huge fight… because we were. And if you think that, it’s true! But if you think something else, you’re wrong… because you’re not right.’ She started babbling.

Oliver rolled his eyes. She quickly excused herself and left him alone with Thea and Tommy.

‘So…’ Thea said grinning at him. ‘What’s up?’

‘Aside from his dick?’ Tommy burst out laughing.

‘Hey!’ Oliver shouted and crossed his legs. ‘My dick is fine… And don’t say ‘dick’ in front of Thea!’

‘What was going on?’ the girl asked.

‘She told you. We were having a fight.’

‘On the bed?’ Tommy chuckled.

‘Well, yes! Absolutely.’ Oliver nodded his head.

‘Whatever you say!’ Thea said sarcastically and winked at Tommy.

 _Ugh._ Great! Now that they’ve made up their mind, there was no way he could show them how much he _disliked_ Felicity Smoak. Too bad! Because he _really disliked_ her…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are getting heated with Oliver and Felicity... :D  
> Tell me what you thought about this chapter and if you like it, feel free to leave me a kudo ^_^  
> Happy holidays!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, beautiful people! Happy New Year! ^_^ I hope you had a great time and I wish you all the best in the coming year!  
> I want to thank everyone for your comments and support. When I started this I didn't really think a lot of people would be interested but I'm amazed by your response <3 Thank you all!  
> I also want to thank Victoria for the poster she made! I love it! <3  
> And again, thanks to my buddy Martin for being my first reader and giving me his opinion on stuff. <3  
> All mistakes are mine.   
> I hope you like it! Happy reading! ^_^

Chapter 5

 

Oliver had spent the whole morning walking around the mansion and the garden surrounding it. He was sure he’d learned every little detail in his home’s architecture, and all the different flowers, including their order in the rows.

He couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened last night at Sara’s birthday party. All he could think about was the way his body had been pressed to Felicity Smoak’s, how they had breathed the same air and how much he had wanted to kiss her at that moment. Remembering the way her mouth had been slightly opened, as if it was inviting his own, made him groan. _What the fuck?_ He was supposed to be angry with her! She had made big decisions behind his back! He sighed when he realized that they didn’t even get to discuss anything Unidac related.

Just as he walked back in the mansion, his phone beeped alarming him that he got a message.

_From: Becky_

_Don’t forget about Grand Star Hotel tonight!!! xoxo_

Oliver rolled his eyes and exhaled loudly. Because he had forgotten.

Two years ago, some guy, named Steve Peters started building a hotel and the construction had finished last week. The hotel was supposed to open tonight and everyone from Star’s Elite was invited to spend a night in the hotel for free. According to Oliver, the guy was very thirsty for fame and was probably trying to get in the club, to get closer to the rich and famous of Starling City. _What a douche!_ Even though he didn’t want to go, Becky had told him that it was good for his public image and that this potential partnership with Peters could be beneficial.

So here he was. Packing for his night in Grand Star Hotel. He took a dark blue T-shirt and grey sweatpants, underwear and socks and pushed them in a small black bag. He went to the bathroom and took his toothpaste and brush and put them in a small necessaire. After that, he hopped in the shower quickly and when he had dried himself, he put on a dark gray suit. He looked at the watch and decided that he should leave now if he wanted to be on time.

When he arrived he eyed the hotel from its’ base to the last floor. It looked rather expensive and luxurious from the outside and Oliver was sure that the inside was even more pretentious. He walked in the lobby and was immediately greeted by dozens of people. There were paparazzi and rich people everywhere.

‘Mr. Queen! So glad you could come!’ Oliver turned around and smiled at the unfamiliar man. ‘Oh, dear! Where are my manners? My name is Steve Peters.’ He said and pulled his right hand out of his pocket for Oliver to shake it.

‘Oh, right! Congratulations on the hotel. You’ve done a brilliant job!’

The man started laughing and shaking Oliver’s hand. Oliver didn’t think he’d said something too funny but then he saw paparazzi flashing their cameras in their directions and realized the man was just acting for the photos. _Right_. Oliver barely managed to hold back the rolling of his eyes and instead put on his famous ‘Oliver Queen’ smile and decided to go along with the act. The guy engaged him in a small talk but soon left to go and ‘greet the other guests’. Oliver was just about to go look for Tommy when he heard the people around him whispering to each other. He followed their gazes to the hotel’s entrance and the sight of Felicity Smoak in a scarlet long gown made him catch his breath in awe. The dress fit her at all the right places making her look like a walking fairytale. The silver belt around her waist was paired with shining stilettos and clutch in the same color. Her hair was curled beautifully on one side showing her neckline, leading to the exposed top part of her chest, slightly below her collarbone.

‘Enjoying the view?’

Oliver quickly turned around to see Tommy smirking at him knowingly.

‘I was just… looking for you.’

‘Yeah, I’m sure you were... C’mon, Peters is giving a speech and then we’re off to the bar.’ Tommy said and wrapped his arm around Oliver’s shoulder pulling him to the center of the lobby.

Five minutes later everyone had arrived and was gathered in the lobby where Peters started talking about his journey with the hotel. Oliver was not interested in that shit but he tried paying attention just in case somebody was taking pictures of him. He accidentally looked at Felicity Smoak’s direction and saw Barry Allen whispering something in her ear. _God, Oliver hated that guy!_ Felicity just smiled at what he’d just said but Oliver saw it wasn’t one of her big smiles that showed her dimples. It was more reserved and more… sad. He could tell something was wrong but he didn’t know what. _Not that it was any of his business anyway_. He decided to focus on Peters, instead of think about Smoak’s mood and worries. She was still annoying and insufferable and he still hated her.

When Peters was done with his speech, he led everyone to the bar. It was extremely spacious: there was a stage on one side where a band was currently situated, waiting to ‘get the party started’; on the other side was the bar itself where Oliver saw all kinds of alcohol and to his surprise, there were actually bottles he couldn’t recognize. In the middle there was a dance floor surrounded by a metal railing and around it, there were different booths for people to sit in.

Two hours later everyone was having fun dancing, singing or drinking. Oliver was sitting in his booth looking for Tommy who had gone somewhere and hadn’t returned still. He stood up and leaned on the railing of the dance floor. People were grinding against each other, drinks in their hands. Oliver made a grimace as he saw some of the older people dancing dirtily, rubbing into each other. _Disgusting!_ In order to stop looking at that embarrassing sight, he shifted his gaze but much to his displeasure, it landed on Felicity Smoak who was currently at the bar, between Barry Allen and Ray Palmer. Allen was talking and gesticulating like crazy, while Palmer was visibly disapproving of what Allen was saying. Ray touched her shoulder to get her attention and told her something that made her smile lightly. It was time for Barry to frown now.

‘Pathetic.’

Oliver turned around to face the person who’d said that and saw Isabel Rochev who leaned on the railway right next to him.

‘What is?’ he asked, not knowing what she meant.

‘The geek squad.’ She answered and nodded her head in the same direction he had been looking at before she came.

‘What do you have against them?’ he asked again and felt her fingers gently sliding on his arm and bicep.

 _What a tacky woman!_ Oliver knew she had wanted to get him in bed with her for a while now. She had been flirting openly with him since forever. She was really attractive, Oliver knew that, but he wasn’t interested in spending any night with her.

‘I’m just not a big fan of technology.’ She said and leaned more into him rather than the railway. He coughed at the uncomfortable feeling taking over him at that moment. Apparently, she didn’t take a hint. ‘I’m pretty sure, you’re not those people’s biggest fans, too.’ She whispered quietly into his neck.

Oliver’s grip around his glass tightened. He wanted to shoo her off, but he knew he couldn’t be too direct, because Isabel often invested into QC and he couldn’t afford losing her as an investor. He clenched his jaw and took a small sip of his whiskey. Once again he looked at the trio on the other side of the railway. Barry Allen leaned into her and whispered in her ear and extended his hand for her to take. She smiled and took it. They said something to Palmer and left the bar hand in hand. _What the fuck was going on?_ Oliver felt like he got an answer to the question that had been bugging him for a while. So she really was sleeping with Allen. Maybe they were even dating… Well, good for them. Allen was really her type, they were very much alike. _They were suitable for each other. They were perfect. He shipped them. They were his new OTP. Mhm. Totally. Absolutely._ Oliver drank the whole glass in one gulp and clenched his teeth. Barry Allen and Felicity Smoak were not his concern and he didn’t give a shit about them. They could fuck if they wanted, they could get married if they wanted. _He didn’t care!_

‘Wow, calm down, cowboy!’ Isabel said while holding onto him even tighter. ‘Don’t break the glass.’

Only then did Oliver realize he had been holding the empty glass way too tightly.

‘I bet you don’t want to injure those beautiful hands of yours.’ She said, trying too hard to sound sexy.

‘Yeah? Well, they do a lot of other things beautifully, too.’ He heard himself saying. All of a sudden, he felt like _Ollie_ again. He wanted to be drunk and even though he didn’t really like Isabel that much he wanted to fuck her. He didn’t care. He had been nice and well-behaved for too long, he needed to get loose even if it was for one night. He needed this right now. If those nerds could get laid, he could too, _God damn it_. He smiled seductively at Isabel and when her eyes opened wide, he knew he had her right where he wanted her.

‘They… they do?’ she asked leaning in even closer.

‘Yeah…’ he said in a whisper and slightly brushed his lips against hers. ‘In fact, I could show if you want to see.’

He was teasing her and he knew she was hooked. She took his hand and they quickly walked towards the exit. Oliver laughed at the way she hustled back to her room, but he could feel a sharp bitterness deep in his gut, that he couldn’t quite explain.

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Oliver waved his hand in front of her face slightly. When he made sure she was sound asleep, he slowly released himself from her grip and got out of the bed. While he was putting on his clothes he couldn’t help but hate himself for what he’d just done with Isabel. He felt like he was going to vomit. He couldn’t describe what had happened, but something, he didn’t know what, had made him get into bed with her. All of a sudden he had felt some kind of sourness and sleeping with Isabel seemed like a cure against it, but apparently it wasn’t strong enough because he was still feeling it.

Just as he sneaked out of her room, he almost ran into something. He manage to stop himself just before the clash and realized it wasn’t something, but someone. _Someone he really hated._

‘Holy shit, Oliver, you scared me.’ Barry Allen let out a small chuckle.

 _Haha, very funny. What an idiot!_ Then realization struck Oliver. Barry Allen’s room wasn’t on this floor. They were put in next-door rooms, two floors above this one. What the hell was he doing here in 1 a.m.?

‘What are you doing here?’ Oliver asked, but realized it sounded more like a growl instead of just a normal question.

‘I…’ the Kid looked around nervously. ‘I can’t tell you. It’s not really your business.’

 _What did he say?_ Did that moron want to get punched? Because Oliver would gladly do it! He thought for a second and remembered that Felicity Smoak’s room wasn’t here as well, so what was Allen _really_ doing here?

‘ _What_ … are you _doing_ here?’ Oliver got closer to him. Allen was visibly disturbed. _Good_.

‘Well, I…’ he started and swallowed hard. Oliver wanted to tell him to man up, but decided to wait and hear what he had to say. ‘You see… You know detective Patty Spivot? She… um… well… she needed help with her… with something and asked me to… you know, help her… fix her… fix something.’

 _Holy shit!_ This Allen Kid wasn’t messing around. He was a ladies’ man in disguise.

‘You’re going to have sex with her.’ Oliver simply stated. He was a grown up after all and he understood. He knew what ‘fixing something’ meant.

‘I…’ Allen looked like he was about to argue but then stopped and nodded slightly. ‘Well, yes.’

 _Holy shit!_ Oliver had to admit he was surprised. Barry never struck him as somebody who got a lot of pussy but apparently he was wrong. Suddenly, he remembered who he’d been with earlier.

‘What about Smoak?’

‘What about her?’ the idiot asked.

‘Weren’t you with her earlier?’ Oliver asked back.

‘NO! I mean, yes, I was with her at the bar, but then I walked her to a cab outside. I mean, I was with her platonically. I… I wasn’t with her in any other way. Because I haven’t had sex with her. Not that I haven’t thought about, though. But you didn’t need to hear that…’

‘No… I didn’t.’ Oliver said and felt his heart beating faster. So they haven’t slept together! Felicity Smoak and Barry Allen were just very good friends and they haven’t had sex! _Not that Oliver cared._

‘Where did she go?’

‘What do you care?’ Allen asked back. Oliver wanted to smack him.

‘Barry. Where did she go?’

‘She went to the liquor store two blocks away. At least, that’s what she said’, the other man said and started laughing at the pun he’d just made.

‘Barry, how could you let her go buy alcohol on her own while she’s upset about something?’

‘She was upset?’

‘It was pretty clear. You could see it on her face. Man! You were with her the whole night and didn’t even notice?’

‘I… I wasn’t paying much attention. But you were apparently.’ Barry stated and lifted his eyebrow.

They stared at each other for a moment, before Oliver tapped Barry’s shoulder and started walking away.

‘Wait!’ Allen said after him. Oliver turned around and looked at him. ‘Why did you ask about her?’

‘It’s none of your business.’ Oliver said and smiled as he turned to walk away again.

‘Wait!’ Barry shouted after him. Oliver stopped and looked at him again. ‘I just told you I’m going to have sex with Patty, but you won’t answer this simple question?’

Oliver could see the confusion, mixed with slight embarrassment in Barry Allen’s eyes. He wasn’t as bad as he’d thought he was. He was actually a brilliant young man with a good heart. Maybe in another universe, they could even be friends.

‘Yes.’ Oliver simply stated and grinned at himself, ignoring Barry’s shouts.

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Oliver was drinking a glass of whiskey on his balcony, when he saw her arriving. She was carrying three bottles of wine and was slightly uncoordinated. He leaned more to follow her as she went in the hotel and soon she was out of his sight and into the lobby. Oliver took a sip of his whiskey and winced at the taste of it.

What had happened to her? Why wasn’t she her usual happy _and annoying_ self? Maybe she was in love with Barry but he told her wanted Patty? Nah. Felicity Smoak isn’t one to let guys dictate her mood. Oliver couldn’t deny that she was one of the strongest people he’d ever met and that she had a really thick skin. But tonight, she somehow seemed… fragile. Self-conscious. Broken.

Before he could stop himself, he took his phone out, found her number on his contact list and shot her a quick message.

_You okay?_

_-OQ_

After he pressed ‘Send’ he stood there looking at his screen. _What the fuck had he just done?_ He wanted to throw himself from the balcony. Why had he sent her a message? Why was he asking her if she was okay? _He couldn’t care less about her._ Suddenly his phone vibrated. A message! He looked at the screen and saw it was from her. He felt his heart beating faster and eagerly opened the message.

_What do you care?_

_-FS_

Oliver threw himself on the bed and buried his head in the pillow.

‘FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKKKKK!’ he shouted but the sound was muted by the pillow.

 _That woman!_ The only time he was somewhat kind towards her, and she answers like a total bitch. He felt embarrassed and disappointed and he wanted to kill himself. Why on Earth did he do that? And why was he upset by her message? They hated each other, her response was perfectly expected. What Oliver didn’t expect was himself picking up the phone again and writing another message.

_I just think three bottles of wine is too much for one person._

_-OQ_

_FUUUUCKK_! What was he doing? He didn’t realize he had been holding his breath until his lungs started burning inside him. He slowly inhaled and sat up. He rubbed his temples with his index and middle fingers wondering what was going on and why was he writing messages to Felicity Smoak so impulsively. _He was drunk!_ There was no other explanation for his actions. _Right?_ His phone vibrated again. He was thinking of ignoring it, but ended up looking at it.

_What? You wanna join me or something?_

_-FS_

Oliver knew it was sarcasm. He knew it pretty well. That didn’t stop him from taking his phone in one hand and leaving the room. He locked the door and climbed one floor down. 205. He quickly found the room number and knocked. He couldn’t explain to himself what was happening, why was he even here, why was he doing this. _Holy fucking shit! This was a mistake!_ Just as he was about to turn around and leave, her door opened and she stood before him- in her oversized T-shirt, shorts and make-up free. She looked so small and Oliver’s heart clenched, when she saw that her eyes were red and puffy. She had been crying. He should be laughing in her face. _He didn’t_. He should be happy. _He wasn’t._

‘What are you doing here? You didn’t actually think I invited you over, did you?’ she asked rudely and Oliver could see that she was just in a defense mode.

‘I… I’m going to be honest. I don’t know why I’m here.’ He stood awkwardly in front of her.

They stared at each other for a long moment, before she stepped into her room leaving the door open. Oliver understood the silent invitation and walked in behind her. He looked around and saw that beside one of the walls there was a cushion on the floor and an empty bottle of wine. A second one was already half. She had been sitting on the floor, crying and drinking. _What the hell had happened?_ She walked back, sat on the cushion and leaned on the wall. He didn’t move, not knowing what to do.

‘There is a glass in one of the drawers. Help yourself.’ She said before drinking directly from the bottle. She was drunk. It wasn’t hard to see it.

‘I don’t want to drink. Thank you.’

‘Isn’t that why came here in the first place?’

‘I… I don’t know why I came.’ He really didn’t.

‘Men. You and your empty promises.’ She said sarcastically and drank some more. _So this really was about a man._ Oliver felt his jaw tighten before she huffed and continued. ‘Maybe you just don’t want to drink with _me_ … What is it, Queen? Am I not worthy of your company? Am I ugly? Am I fat? Am I dumb? Is that why I’m always abandoned?’

Oliver didn’t know what to do as tears started streaming down her face more and more with each word. He didn’t know what she meant. Who had abandoned her?

‘You know, you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth. No. Make that gold. Gold spoon! You had a _perfect_ family. You were a wild child in your youth. You were dumb and reckless and here you are- CEO of one of the biggest companies in America. Right next to me.’

_Where was she going with this? Were they going to argue again?_

‘Me? I had to fight for every damn thing I have. I could barely afford going to MIT. My mother…’ her eyes watered again. ‘My mother was a cocktail waitress in Vegas. She worked _like crazy_ to help me. And then _I_ worked like crazy to get to where I am.’

Oliver didn’t understand why she was telling him this. Was she trying to insult him or something?

‘My father, he… um… he was a computer genius.’ She said as new tears rolled down her cheeks. ‘I admired him so much. I wanted to be like him one day. My mother wanted to buy me Barbie dolls, but every time she did, I cried. All I wanted was little gadgets and shit.’ She laughed a humorless chuckle. ‘Did you know I built my first computer when I was seven? No, how would you know that. Anyway. One night after he put me to bed, my father kissed my forehead and told me how much he loved me and how he would always be with me. The next morning I woke up, I went downstairs and found my mother in the kitchen. Her head was in her palms and she was crying uncontrollably. I didn’t know what was going on. I needed to find my Daddy to tell him that Mommy was crying and he needed to kiss and hug her to make her feel better. When my mother saw me standing beside her, she pulled me in for a hug and started apologizing.’

She stopped and drank a huge gulp of the wine, almost emptying the second bottle. As she was talking, Oliver slowly and uncertainly approached her and when he was close enough, he sat down on the floor next to her. She clearly needed someone to talk to and apparently he was the closest person to her right now. He was slightly upset about those accusations she had made earlier, but he swallowed them and focused back on her words.

‘I couldn’t understand what was happening. And then she told me that my father had left us. That he was gone… I will never forget that day twelve years ago.’

Suddenly, Oliver understood. This was some kind of a sad anniversary. Her father had abandoned her _on this day_ twelve years ago.

‘Twelve _fucking_ years and it still gets to me.’ She yelled and burst out in tears again.

Before Oliver could realize what he was doing, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to his body. He felt her small arms gliding around his waist as she continued crying. He understood now. Her accusations from earlier had nothing to do with his wealth. They were directed at his ingratitude towards his family. How he had done nothing but disappoint his parents, how he had done nothing but worry them in the past, and how he still got everything he wanted. And here she was, trying her best to make her parents her proud, and she ends up being abandoned by her father.

‘You know what I think?’ he asked quietly. ‘I think you actually won at life.’

‘How’s that?’ she asked in between her sobs.

‘Well, you got rid of the unworthy people in your life. I’m sorry for saying this but your father obviously isn’t a man of honor. You’re smart, and funny, and talented, and… a lot of other things. A real man would realize what a treasure it is to have a daughter like you. Not that I want to be your daddy or anything…I just…’

And for the first time in a while, he heard her laughing slightly. It was a soft and quiet laugh, _one that apparently makes his heart melt_. He pulled her closer and she didn’t oppose.

‘I’m just saying that if he had stayed you wouldn’t be who you are today. What you have experienced in your life without him- that’s what formed you as a person. And I think she’s great. Your mother did a wonderful job raising you.’ He looked down as she pulled herself away from his chest, but not out of his arms.

‘Really? You really think I’m… great?’ she asked in disbelief. Her eyes were red, her hair was messy, yet she looked so pure and innocent and… _angelic_.

‘Well… Yeah. I mean… apart from being so annoying and opinionated… and sarcastic… and…’

She laughed again. He couldn’t help smiling. He felt proud that even for a while he made her feel better on such a horrible day for her. He thought about how she had spent that day in her past. Did she drink and cry every year? Had she been comforted by another guy before? Oliver didn’t want to think about it. All he could see right now was that she was no longer crying. She was looking at him, there was _something_ in her eyes, but he couldn’t put a name to it.

‘Oliver….’ She said and he slightly held his breath. She hadn’t said his first name in… five years. For the past year he’d been ‘Queen’ or ‘asshole’ or ‘idiot’, but now… he was ‘Oliver’. There was something in the way she said his name; he got a weird feeling deep inside and wanted to feel it again. He wanted to savor that moment forever, before realisation struck him. He hadn’t turned to her by her first name as well.

‘Yes… Felicity?’ he asked, loving the way her name sounded from his mouth. _Felicity_. He was sure that this was the prettiest name he’d ever heard in his life. _Felicity_. A rare name, indeed. He didn’t know another Felicity besides the one in front of him right now. And he didn’t want to.

‘Thank you.’ She said in almost a whisper and smiled lightly.

‘It was nothing.’ He returned her smile and pulled her closer to him again.

They stayed like this for a while. Oliver felt her becoming calmer and calmer and he loved being the reason for it.

‘I want to ask you something.’ She said all of a sudden interrupting the silence.

‘Mhm…’

‘How could you out us in front of the board? And how could you say that I slept with a professor to get my degree? That was low. Even for you.’ She said as she burrowed her eyebrows.

‘Oh, man. I…’ he started. ‘I just… when I’m angry I say bad things, and things that I don’t mean. I just don’t think clearly.’

‘Well, I think you should control your temper slightly.’

‘What? You’re gonna lecture me now?’ he grinned and arched his eyebrow causing her to smile.

‘I’m just saying. It’s better for you that way. You’re damaging your health… I think that from now on I’m not going to worry about meaningless things. I’m going to live for the present and I won’t stress about past events. The past is in the past.’

‘Well, you’re pretty wise when you’re drunk.’ He laughed and she followed.

 Once again, his arms tightened around her shoulders, as her hands drew slow circles on his back. He remembered how she’d done the same thing five years ago on his bare skin.

‘So…’ he spoke again a couple of minutes later. ‘You and Allen…’

‘Oh my God.’ She chuckled and shook her head. ‘Barry is a cutie but no. He’s just a friend.’

Oliver knew it was stupid to ask her after Barry had just told him the same thing as well but hearing it from her was somehow different. Made him really believe it. _Not that he would care if they dated_.

‘Although… he’s a great kisser.’ She added.

‘What?’ Oliver pulled her slightly away from him. Suddenly, he hated the Kid again. ‘You’ve kissed him?’

‘What? It just happened.’ She said innocently and shrugged her shoulders. ‘Don’t worry though. He’s not as good as you.’

She smiled cheekily and rested her head on his chest. Oliver didn’t know why, but her last sentence really made him grin. It was good to know she thought he was great kisser. _Because he thought she was the best._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been looking forward to this chapter for so long. I hope I did it justice and that you like it too!  
> Tell me what you thought!   
> If you like it, you could give me a kudo :P  
> Thanks ^_^


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I have been looking forward to this chapter for so long :D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thanks to Victoria for her amazing poster ^_^  
> I appologize in advance for mistakes. They're all mine. Also, again, English is not my first language. :D  
> The response to this story blows my mind, you guys. When I started this, I never would've thought you'd like it that much. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. ^_^  
> Happy reading.

 

‘Mister Queen, you’ve got a delivery.’ Becky called from outside his office.

Oliver frowned. He didn’t remember ordering anything, but he slowly got up from his seat and walked out. A skinny ginger boy greeted him and showed him where to sign. Oliver looked over at Becky with a question on his face and she just shrugged her shoulders. Oliver signed and took the box. He shook it slightly. The box was definitely full with whatever was in it.

‘Who’s it from?’ Becky slowly came up behind him after the delivery guy left. Oliver felt her fingers going up and down his spine. It felt so weird and distant and even though she’d done it before, it seemed too forced right now so he just pulled away from her. He didn’t want to be touched. At least not from her.

‘It doesn’t say.’ He said and walked into his room, closing the door behind him just in case Becky decided to go with him too. He knew she wouldn’t, though. She had been acting a bit strange ever since their last night together, when he’d found that article about Felicity. She had tried things with him afterwards, but to his surprise, he had no interest in any of it.

He sat on the sofa in his office and glided his hands over the box, before tearing the wrap. _Holy shit!_ He could not believe his eyes when he saw the box of the 1926 Macallan whiskey. _Holy shit!_ His eyes widened at the unexpected gift. Was this some prank? This was the 6 th most expensive whiskey in the world, only 40 bottled had been produced. Who could have possibly just given him this present costing $75 000? And then he remembered. 

Ever since he could drink, Oliver loved whiskey. There was a personal collection of whiskeys at the mansion that once belonged to his father, but now it was his. A couple of months ago, there had been an auction and this particular whiskey had been for sale. Oliver had tried his best to get his hands on it, but a _certain someone_ had bought it right before him, even though he knew she didn’t like whiskey. She had done it just to piss him off.

 _That woman!_ Oliver looked at the box again and noticed the little post-it note that was in the same scarlet color as the whiskey box. He quickly pulled it and read the beautifully written words.

_To: Oliver Queen_

_Drink up, asshole!_

_P.S. Thank you._

_-FS_

He couldn’t help grinning.

Two nights ago she had broken down in front of him. Although hearing her story had been quite tragic, he was secretly happy. He didn’t know why but he was glad that night had happened. After she had calmed down, they talked about this and that, and soon he realized she had fallen asleep. Oliver remembered putting her under the sheets and turning the lights off, as he left. The following morning, she was nowhere to be seen for breakfast, and he assumed she had either left, or was still sleeping. He hadn’t heard from her since then.

And now she had sent him the bottle she had bought three months ago just to make him angry. What did that mean? Should he thank her? He decided to wait and thank her in person. Later today, Unidac Industries had a board meeting with a new investor, which meant he would see Felicity there. Oliver felt a wave of excitement at the thought of finally doing something about his new company. Correction. _Their company._

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Oliver could not believe his eyes when he saw the new investor. _Didn’t that woman give up?_ He met Isabel’s eyes and all he saw was coldness. There was no sign of the lust he’d seen in her big brown orbs just a couple of nights ago. _At least she was a professional_.

‘Well, I’m going to be honest with both of you,’ she started. ‘I’m taking a huge risk with this investment. We all know that Unidac is currently at the bottom and I’m not quite certain that you can bring it back on top.’

‘I’m sorry but why are you making this investment then?’ Felicity asked, making Oliver look at her with wide eyes. _She had balls!_ It was an ancient trick that every businessman knew- you gotta lick the investor’s ass in the beginning to get them to invest in the first place. Felicity, however, _apparently_ had different tactics. Isabel looked at her, the dislike extremely obvious. _Did they know each other?_

‘Well, _Miss Smoak_ , I have my reasons.’ She said and quickly glanced at Oliver’s direction. Oliver saw Felicity looking between the two of them before Isabel spoke again. ‘Let’s say, I want to give you a chance.’

Oliver shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Felicity probably figured it out by the face she had made. _Shit!_ Would she hate him again? Because he really didn’t want to go back to that. He had new hopes to rebuild their relationship, he wanted to be friends with her. He was praying that Isabel hadn’t ruined his chances because if she had, she would-

‘Mister Queen!’

He snapped out of his thoughts at the loud way the brunette had said his name. He really didn’t like her voice. It was too… squeaky.

‘What, what?’ he asked blinking rapidly, trying to remember what she’d said.

‘I asked whether I should leave the papers or should we sign them now?’

‘I… Miss Smoak? What should we do?’ he looked at her pretty blue eyes.

‘Well, I think that…’ she said not moving her gaze away from his. ‘I think that since… this is our first meeting with _Miss Rochev_ … this is a very important decision. I think we should wait and think it through on our own.’ she finally looked at Isabel, who was visibly not amused.

‘Well, Miss Rochev, I guess we’ll call when we’ve made up our minds. Because I support… my partner… my partner’s decision.’ He said and smiled at Isabel’s blank expression, not missing the way Felicity’s head shot up as she fixed him with her eyes.

‘Hm. Of course.’ Isabel said, trying to keep her tone neutral and formal. ‘Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing from you soon.’

And with that, she walked out of the conference room. Oliver gathered his papers and was about to follow Isabel out, when he heard Felicity clearing her throat. He turned around to look at her. The moment their eyes met, she smiled and he couldn’t help returning the gesture.

‘Hey,’ she shyly said.

‘Hey.’ He got a little bit closer to her.

‘Did you enjoy your gift?’

‘To be honest, I’m scared to open it,’ he smiled when she started laughing. Her laugh was so carefree and genuine. ‘Felicity, you didn’t have to. It’s too much.’

‘Nonsense! I’m the CEO of a Smoak Industries, I’m kind of a millionaire.’ She giggled. ‘Besides, I don’t drink whiskey.’

‘I know, red wine only.’ He remembered five years ago at the party, he’d offered her beer but she had declined saying she only drank ‘high-quality wines’. ‘Why did you buy it then?’ He asked, knowing her answer already.

‘So that _you_ wouldn’t have it.’ She chuckled apparently remembering that night of the auction. ‘Anyway, I don’t need it, and I know you like whiskey and… I don’t know…’

They stood like that, looking at each other for a moment before Jerry walked in.

‘Miss Smoak, you’re travelling first class, right?’ Just then the man saw Oliver and his eyes widened. ‘Mister Queen, I’m so sorry for the interruption, I…’

‘You’re not interrupting anything, Jerry, don’t worry. And yes, first class’ She said and walked towards him, while Oliver followed her. Then she turned around to speak to him. ‘Did you pack?’

There were a lot of benefits to being a CEO. Apart from the money, fame and power, every year CEOs from all over the world gathered someplace for one weekend. There were a couple of meetings, exchanging stories, ideas and experience. That part was quite boring, but most of the time the stay was fun, because there was always some place to go, always somewhere fancy with a lot of activities. This year, for example, they were going to a skiing resort in Alaska.

‘No, not yet. Later, when I go home. I was going to tell you. My assistant somehow forgot to book me a room in a hotel. So I’m not quite sure what to-’

‘I could book you a room, Mr. Queen.’ Jerry said. ‘I still haven’t booked one for Miss Smoak, so while I’m doing it for her, I could do it for you, too.’ The man smiled at them.

‘I’d really appreciate it. Thank you, Jerry.’

Oliver didn’t know how Becky had forgotten. Yes, he’d felt her going distant and moodier. He didn’t really care, but her personal problems were starting to distract her from doing her job. _He most definitely cared about that._ She was probably upset that Oliver had told her ‘No’ a couple of times, even kicking her out of his apartment once.

‘Anyway, so I… I guess I’ll see you in Alaska.’ He said as she lifted her head slightly so that she could look into his eyes.

‘Yeah, see you in Alaska.’ She repeated.

They stared at each other for a moment, studying the color of the other’s eyes, when Jerry coughed. She jumped slightly at Jerry’s way to break the tension. She smiled tightly at Oliver and left him in the big conference room, all by himself.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

He was going to kill her. _Yep_. He was going to kill Becky Marshall.

On top of not booking Oliver a hotel room, she also hadn’t booked him a vehicle to take him to the mountains where the hotel was.

So there he stood. At the cold Alaskan airport, no cabs around, people living their lives no one giving a shit about him. He had been waiting there for three hours with his luggage, as he watched people come and go. He was fucking freezing, and he couldn’t call a cab because all _eight_ cabs in this forsaken town had been booked. _Awesome. Just perfect_. He took his bags and went outside. The wind hit his face with a force Oliver had never felt before. He squeezed his eyes to see through the snowflakes and spotted a coffee shop right in front of him. He crossed the road as quick as possible in that weather and walked in the bar. Everyone turned around to look at him, as he sat at an empty booth next to the fireplace. _Damn!_ Those people didn’t look nearly as affected by the wind and snow outside as him. The barista came up to take his order and came back with a cup of coffee five minutes later. He cupped it to warm his hands a little bit and exhaled deeply at the warm sensation. Oliver looked out the window wondering what to do. He decided to wait. For what, he didn’t know… Unless… He quickly took his phone out and shot a quick text.

_Hey, Felicity. Are you here yet?_

_-OQ_

He shivered as someone opened the door to walk in the small coffee shop. He was definitely going to be sore from that wind. His phone buzzed and he read the response.

_Getting on the plane in 20 mins. Is everything ok?_

_-FS_

He felt relief rush over him. Thank God.

_I’m stuck at a coffee shop right next to the airport in the town. No free cabs._

_-OQ_

 

_I’ll be there in 2 hours. Jerry booked me a cab the other day. :P_

_-FS_

 

_Can we trade assistants? Mine’s not doing a good job these days. :(_

_-OQ_

 

_Don’t even think about it. Wouldn’t trade Jerry for the world._

_-FS_

 

Oliver was familiar with the bond Felicity and Jerry had developed during her one year as a CEO. Jerry was not only her employee, he was her friend. He always made sure she was okay, comfortable and content. Every time she was cold at a meeting, Jerry brought her a coat, or a cup of coffee. He knew what she wanted, did things for her without her asking him. _Did Jerry like her?_ Well, it was possible. Not that Oliver could blame him. She was very… _likeable_.

Oliver’s thoughts were interrupted when suddenly music started playing from the speakers.

_Oh, don’t you dare look back_

_Just keep your eyes on me._

_I said ‘You’re holding back’,_

_She said ‘Shut up and dance with me’!_

_This woman is my destiny, ooh oh_

_She said ‘Shut up and dance with me’!_

_….._

Oliver listened to the whole song as he took small sips of the hot liquid that he had ordered. It was kind of catchy. He remembered the first night he’d met Felicity five years ago, and how she’d asked him to dance with her. He had never been a dancer and had told her so. She had lifted her eyebrow in challenge, as her hands had gone lower down her stomach, reaching the end of her short skirt. She had lifted it up slightly revealing more of her bare tight. His hand had shot down over hers, while the other found its’ way to cup her ass. She had lifted herself on her tiptoes and had whispered sweetly into his ear.

‘Did I persuade you?’ she had asked to which he had just growled and had dragged her in the middle of the room where they had danced, as if they were alone, ignoring the mass of people around them.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

‘Oliver!’

He turned at her melodic voice to look at her face, which had turned red from the cold wind howling outside.

‘Hey!’

He stood up awkwardly _. What now?_ He sat down as quickly as he’d moved up. She sat across him and took off her hat and scarf.

‘So…’ she started. ‘What did you do while you waited?’

‘I…’

‘Hello! Welcome to Oswald’s. What can I get you?’ the barista interrupted him.

‘Umm, I’ll have… a hot chocolate, please.’ She smiled, causing dimples to appear on the sides of her cheeks.

Oliver felt the ends of his lips turning upwards. With her curly hair slightly frizzy from the hat, her dimpled cheeks, now matching the color of her lips and her bright and happy blue eyes, she looked like a winter wonderland.

‘What? Why are you looking at me like this?’ She suddenly asked meeting his eyes with curiosity.

‘’It’s nothing.’

‘Do I have something on my face? … Oh my God, please tell me my nose isn’t running!’ she started looking through her purse and pulled out a small mirror and sighed relieved. ‘Thank God, no. That would have been so embarrassing. I would have blamed it on the cold weather. I mean, I know it’s a normal thing, it’s normal for humans, but it’s not a nice sight. Back in high school I had a classmate that would wipe his nose on his sleeve and you could see his…’

Once again, their eyes met and she stopped talking. Oliver knew that a wide grin had spread on his face.

‘Before you came here, I was playing Candy Crush… I know, I know…’ he laughed when she raised her eyebrows in surprise. ‘Today was actually my first time playing it.’

‘Really?’ she asked incredulously.

‘Yeah. Thea plays it all the time, and I… I’ve seen you playing it too at boring meetings.’ He said teasingly, and watched her cheeks turn even redder.

‘I… I don’t play games at meetings. That would be…  I-I usually pay attention... It’s just… sometimes… In my defense, those meeting tend to take too long sometimes.’

‘Tell me about it.’

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Half an hour later her cab arrived and after Oliver paid for their order, he helped her settle her bags in the trunk. They gave the name of the hotel to the driver and waited for him to get the car started.

‘So, business or pleasure?’ the man spoke and Oliver saw him grinning in the rearview mirror.

‘Well, a little bit of both, I guess.’ Oliver answered.

‘I don’t understand.’

_What a nosy man!_

‘Well, we are here on a business trip but we’ll have a lot of time to ourselves.’ Felicity calmly explained.

‘Oh, I see. Is this your first time here?’ the man asked.

‘Yes.’ Oliver and Felicity said at the same time.

‘There is a lot to see around here. We’ve got a lovely museum, a theatre, one of the best ski tracks around the world. And while you’re here, you should definitely pay a visit to ‘Paxton’s Taste’. Best food in Alaska! If I’m not mistaken, this month they have discounts for couples and you should…’

‘Oh, no!’ Felicity interrupted him. ‘We’re not… a couple. We’re just frie-…’ she stopped to think, probably for a better word to describe their relationship. ‘We’re um… business partners.’

Oliver decided to ignore this thing he felt, that he couldn’t even put a name to. Disappointment, maybe? He didn’t know why but he felt disturbed and uncomfortable from her definition of them. _Were they just business partners?_ No, she was right and he shouldn’t feel like this. They’re not friends. And they’re _definitely_ not a couple. Honestly, he didn’t know how to describe their relationship, either.

‘Oh, no? My mistake, then.’ The driver said. Oliver met his eyes in the mirror and saw him raise his eyebrows.

_What the hell did that mean? What did that man want from Oliver? Oh, and btw, the deal with Felicity and him was none of his goddamn business!_

 

The rest of the drive was pretty quiet. As they got more and more into the mountain, Oliver could see small houses and hotels, with their roofs covered in snow. The wind was blowing the snowflakes around and even if the weather outside was freezing cold, the whole atmosphere was cozy and warm. Oliver felt peaceful and calm, a feeling he didn’t get to experience often.  

When he and Felicity entered the hotel, they went straight to the reception.

‘Hello. Welcome to our hotel!’ The guy behind the desk said and smiled at Felicity. Oliver rolled his eyes.

‘Thank you very much.’ She said. ‘We’re here for the business convention. We have reservations.’

‘Of course. What are your names?’ the guy said and typed something in the computer.

’Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak. That’s S-M-O-A-K, not S-M-O-K-E.’ she answered.

‘Queen… Queen…’ the guy said as he looked at the monitor scrolling down. ‘Ah, yes. Mr. Queen, here you go.’ He handed Oliver a key with the number 109. ‘The porter will take care of your bags.’

‘Thank you.’ Oliver said.

‘Smoak… Smoak… I’m sorry, no bookings for Smoak.’

‘Um…’ Felicity glanced at Oliver, who was just as confused as her. ‘Well, can you try S-M-O-K-E? Maybe, the person that wrote me down made a mistake.’

‘Sure. Smoke… Smoke… No, nothing. I’m sorry.’

‘There has to be a mistake.’ She laughed uncomfortably. ‘Are you sure you’re checking in the right place?’

‘Yes, Miss Smoak… You don’t have a reservation.’

‘That’s ridiculous. My assistant made a reservation for both, me and him.’ She pointed at Oliver.

Oliver just stood quietly, not understanding how this was possible. Why did he have a reservation and she didn’t? Jerry was her assistant, after all. He can’t have forgotten about her. Unless… Oliver suddenly remembered some of the looks Jerry has thrown him and Felicity. Did he think they liked each other?

‘Could you check my room? Is it a single or…’ he looked at Felicity and saw her eyes widen as if she’d read his mind.

‘Um… no, it’s a double room. A king-size bed.’

‘Oh, no…’ she muttered. ‘I’m going to kill him.’

Oliver bit his lips to hold back his laughter. Jerry had tried to play matchmaker with them. He hadn’t booked a room for her, so that they’d have to share a bed… Oliver once again remembered the time he had actually shared a bed with her. _One of his favorite memories_. He remembered how they had laughed, and how beautiful she looked in the morning despite her smudged make-up. He remembered how she had kissed his skin, and panted beneath him and how he had had his fingers intertwined with hers… Well, even if they shared a bed again, probably none of that would happen this time. He suddenly imagined them doing that stuff again. Would she kiss him back if he kissed her? Would she undress him as eagerly as last time? Would she let him bury his head in her neck as he thrust into her? _No, stop!_

‘Are there any free rooms?’ he heard Felicity asking.

‘Miss Smoak, this is a 5-star hotel, holding a business convention with over 200 guests… Do you think we have free rooms?’

‘Right…’ she looked around and Oliver could tell she was wracking her brain trying to find a solution. The guy behind the desk said he had something to do and that he’d be back in five minutes.

‘Felicity, don’t worry. You could sleep with me.’ Oliver said before he could stop himself. She stopped looking around and met his gaze. She stood still for a long, long moment.

‘I… I don’t think that is a good idea.’

‘Oh, c’mon, Felicity, there is no other place you could stay.’ A feeling of sourness spread through his body at the thought that she still didn’t trust him, especially after what he had done for her a couple of nights ago. ‘I don’t have a girlfriend this time.’ _Shit!_ That sounded wrong.

‘Excuse me? Are you hinting at something?’ she asked as she crossed her arms. ‘Are you trying to say you’re going to have your ways with me again, just because… _you_ _don’t have girlfriend this time?!_ You think I’ll run into your bed because you _don’t have a girlfriend this time_?!’ she raised her voice slightly.

‘I didn’t mean it like that… I’m…’ he rubbed his eyes. This can’t be happening! They had just started to warm up towards each other. Did he just shit on the possibility of being her friend? _Fuck. Fuck. Fuck._

‘I’m not going to bed with you again. EVER!’ She said with determination.

‘Felicity, I’m sorry. I didn’t say it like that. I… I’m not _Ollie_ anymore.’ He stopped talking and looked into her eyes. Her features softened a little and a heavy sigh escaped her. ‘I will sleep on the couch. Hell, if there isn’t a couch, I’ll take the floor. I just… I don’t want you thinking about that night. I know you will probably never forget it, but… I’ve changed, I actually value people and their feelings now.’

‘Good.’ She said with a tone slightly higher than a whisper.

‘So… will you sleep with me? ... Platonically, of course.’ he joked and smiled hoping not to piss her off again.

‘I’m sorry for overreacting, too.’ She said. ‘Anyway, let’s go unpack, I guess.’

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

It was 11:45 pm when they were finally done with sorting their things and had both showered. Felicity was in the bathroom, while Oliver was turning in the horrible couch trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in. _Well, he was definitely going to have a backache tomorrow_. He finally gave up, lied on his left, dropping his right leg on the floor. _This position was going to hurt like a motherfucker._

‘Are you asleep?’ Felicity’s voice came from the bathroom, quiet and uncertain.

‘Almost.’ He said annoyed at the fact that his back had started aching already.

‘I’m going out now. Close your eyes.’

He sighed, not closing his eyes. _What was her deal?_ He’d seen her naked anyway. Why was she shy to be in her pajamas?

‘Are they closed now?’ she asked again.

‘Yes.’ _They weren’t_.

She came out of the bathroom and instead of closing his eyes, Oliver actually widened them. She was wearing _the shortest_ and _thinnest_ sleepwear possible. It was flowy and white with roses on it. She quickly tiptoed around him and he heard her going under the sheets behind him.

‘Felicity,’ he sat up on the couch as she took off her glasses. ‘We’re in Alaska and _that’s_ what you’ve brought to sleep in!? It barely covers _anything_.’  

‘I thought I told you not to look!’

He raised his eyebrows and tilted his head.

‘Oliver, we’re in a hotel, it’s warm here. And plus, I didn’t think I’d be staying with someone else in a room… Why aren’t you asleep?’

‘I’m trying.’ He said and lied down changing up the previous uncomfortable position, replacing it with another. ‘It’s just this couch is killing me.’

There was a silence. Had she fallen asleep? Then there was a deep and loud exhale.

‘You could… you can come in bed.’

He sat up again and saw that she was looking at him. They stared at each other for a moment before he cleared his throat.

‘I… I don’t want to bother you.’

‘You won’t.’ she sat up on the bed as well. Oliver couldn’t help glancing down the exposed upper part of her chest. He swallowed hard. ‘I’m sorry about earlier, Oliver. I just I’m still slightly prejudiced towards you. But… now that I think about it, you’ve changed. And I promise I’ll stop thinking of you as ‘Ollie’. I can now see that you’re a different man than him.’

‘Ollie was a douche.’ Oliver laughed and she followed.

He got up and took his pillow with him. As he was approaching the bed, he saw her scoot over to one side making room for him. When he reached it, he looked at her once again and raised his eyebrows slightly, silently asking her if she was sure. She smiled and nodded.

He slipped into the covers on ‘his’ side of the bed. They stayed in awkward silence both lying flat on their backs facing the ceiling. Suddenly the tension was too much for Oliver and he spoke.

‘What’s your favorite song?’

He saw her turning her head to face him.

‘I don’t know. I have too many.’

‘Name one or two.’ He said.

‘Well… hm… this is really hard.’ She furrowed her eyebrows and he moved to his left to face her. ‘On my way here, I was listening to one of my favorite songs. I had completely forgotten about it but my player was on shuffle and it came on and I was totally shocked because I hadn’t listened to it in years… Anyway. Have you heard ‘It’s all coming back to me’ by Celine Dion?’

‘No, I don’t think I have.’

‘I think you have. It was quite famous… Well, that song, but Meatloaf’s version.’ She tried explaining. Oliver just pursed his lips to show her that he really didn’t know the song.

 ‘You know…’ and she started singing quietly.

‘ _But you were history with the slamming of the door_

_And I made myself so strong again somehow_

_And I never wasted any of my time on you since then…_ ’

Felicity closed her eyes and swallowed, while Oliver was looking at her in awe. _That woman!_ She continued.

‘ _But when you touch me like this_

_And when you hold me like that_

_I just have to admit that it’s all coming back to me…_

_It’s all coming back, it’s all coming back to me now…_

_There were moments of gold and there were flashes of light,_

_There were things I’d never do again but then they always seemed right._

_There were nights of endless pleasure, it was more than any laws allowed…_ ’

She pursed her lips together and smiled with her eyes still closed. Oliver understood. This song meant more to her than she’d ever tell.

‘And so on.’ She said with a grin, finally opening her eyes.

‘You have a beautiful voice, Felicity.’ Oliver said.

‘Oh, thank you, I guess… My other jam right now is…’ she cleared her throat.

‘ _You lil’ stupid ass bitch, I ain’t fucking with you_.’

Oliver couldn’t hold back his laughter and soon she joined him as well. How could one person sing this tender ballad first, and then switch to Big Sean? _That woman!_ She was a mystery, a living and breathing contradiction. One moment she was strong and fierce and ready to take over the world, the next she was curled up, an insecure mess, crying and hiding from prying eyes. One day she hated him, the other she was joking around with him. A contradiction with a pulse and a smile that warmed his heart in so many ways. He realized he hadn’t laughed like that in too long. _That woman!_

‘Felicity Smoak…’ he looked at her as she wiped a couple of tears from laughing for too long from her face, still grinning. ‘You’re full of surprises.’

‘Thank you.’ She looked at him, their eyes meeting. For a moment, Oliver thought what it would feel like to go back home to those blue orbs, and to wake up to them every morning. ‘And what about you?’

‘I don’t really listen to music.’ When he said that, she widened her eyes. ‘I mean, I do, but… you know, whatever’s on the radio. I don’t really have a favorite song, but the one you just sang… it sounds pretty good.’ He smiled at her. ‘And what’s your favorite book?’

‘Another hard one… But… I’m gonna go with… ‘Beautiful Bastard’ and ‘The Hunger Games’.’

‘‘Beautiful bastard’? What’s it about?’

‘Oh, you know, a guy and his secretary have an affair. Typical.’ Her cheeks were pink now.

‘So, you’re into that kind of stuff, huh?’ he teased her. ‘Are you having fantasies about you and Jerry?’ he said as he got closer to her, resting his head on his arm.

‘Oh, yeah. Daily.’ She mimicked his move and now their faces were mere inches away. He laughed and she smiled at him.

‘I’ve heard about ‘The Hunger Games’, though. I’m actually pretty good at archery myself.’

‘Oh, you rich kids growing up playing rich kids’ sports.’ She rolled her eyes.

‘Maybe… but now I’m like an expert. I could probably kill someone.’

She laughed.

‘You know, maybe in another life I will be a vigilante that shoots arrows, and you’ll be my hacking partner. And Digg would still be my black driver.’ He grinned, as she yawned. ‘Hey, I think we should go to sleep, you’re tired and so am I.’

‘Alright, yeah.’ She said and switched off the small lamp on the bedside.

They both turned their backs on each other. Darkness fell around them, but neither was scared or bothered.

‘Good night, Oliver.’ She said quietly.

_It was going to be a good night, indeed._

‘Good night, Felicity.’ He responded and closed his eyes, as his lips turned upwards forming a small smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love The Proposal and the short sleepwear idea came from there. The song... I don't think I have to explain. It screams Olicity to me. :D  
> Anyway, I hope you liked it. ^_^  
> Your comments and kudos mean the world to me!  
> Bye for now ^_^


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello!  
> Sorry for my slight delay, I had a lot of things going on and I barely had time to sit down and write. :(  
> Anyway, here it is- chapter 7! ^_^  
> Thanks to Martin for his helpful advice, Victoria for the amazing poster, and to all of you who read and like my story!  
> Happy reading!

Warmth.

Oliver woke up to a blissful warmth surrounding him, with a smile on his face. When he opened his eyes he saw the curtains were protecting his sight from the powerful light of the morning sun, but a couple of naughty rays of sunshine were sneaking through.

Just then Oliver felt the slight weight on his left side, the ticklish feeling in his neck and the intoxicating scent of something sweet and familiar. _Vanilla orchid_. Realization struck him when he saw Felicity’s hand around his waist, her messy curly head buried in his neck, their legs tangled. Her breath was even, calm and hot on his neck. He wanted to pull her closer to him but didn’t out of fear not to wake her up, so he just stayed there. He quickly glanced at the clock on the bedside. Their first meeting was going to take place at 2 p.m., so they still had around 5 hours to themselves.

Suddenly, he felt her shivering as she pressed her whole body into his. _Well, no wonder she was cold._ Those barely-covering anything pajamas were the least suitable sleepwear she could’ve brought to Alaska. He just smiled and carefully wrapped his arms tighter around her, pressing his head into her hair, even though _he_ was burning from the heat between them. In her sleep, she muttered something and snuggled even closer, _if that was possible_. _That woman!_ Oliver closed his eyes and let himself fall asleep again, holding her in his arms, savoring this moment in his memory.    

 

The next time Oliver woke up, Felicity was calling him by his name, shaking his shoulders in panic.

‘Oliver, wake up! Oliver…’

‘What, what?’ he blinked in a desperate attempt to stay awake.

‘Wake up!’ she grabbed his cheeks, her small hands rubbing his scruff and pulled him up. He tried to ignore the burn from her fingertips on his face. ‘We overslept!’

‘What time is it?’ he asked, as she let go of him.

‘1:45. We’ve only got 15 minutes, probably 14 because I’ve been trying to wake you up for a while and wow, you’re a heavy sleeper. I can’t believe we didn’t set an alarm. At least I didn’t. Did you? I guess you didn’t because we wouldn’t have been in this situation if you had, and oh my God, no, now I’m babbling and wasting more time and …’

‘Felicity, hey! Breathe.’ He said trying to calm her down. ‘I can get ready in 5 minutes. We’ll be fine.’

She inhaled and exhaled deeply and got out of the bed. Oliver was rubbing his face with his hands, when he heard an ‘Eeep!’ followed by a dull thud. He tossed his head up and saw Felicity lying on the ground, facing the floor. _Goodness_. How did she manage to fall on a flat surface?

‘Oh my God!’ he jumped out of the bed and ran towards her. ‘Hey, are you alright?’

He grabbed her left hand with his, while his right hand slipped around her waist and he pulled her up. He quickly turned her around to face him and pulled some messy curls away from her face. Her mouth was hanging open, while her nose was wrinkled.

‘Did it hurt?’ he asked sympathetically.

‘It did, yeah. I should’ve put my glasses on.’ She just chuckled slightly. ‘I hope I’ll live.’

_That woman!_

Oliver just smiled and let go of her. She turned around to go to the bathroom and Oliver followed her with his eyes. Just before she walked in, she glanced at his direction for a second. When she saw him looking, her cheeks turned red and her eyes widened, and before Oliver could see more, she closed the bathroom door.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

The rest of the day had gone by rather smoothly. They had been to a couple of meetings and had introduced themselves to most of the people. They had participated in small talks here and there, never leaving each other.

Oliver really enjoyed this newfound relationship he had with her. It was easy and relaxing. Although, he liked teasing her, he liked it much better when he was the reason behind her smiles and laughs. He didn’t understand what had happened after the night of her breakdown, but he felt the shift in the air between them. Since then, they looked at each other a little longer than usual, they stood a little closer than before. He was glad to admit they were finally on the same page; they were partners.

In the late afternoon, she had fallen asleep again, while he decided to train a little bit.

He put on a white baggy tank and gray shorts and went to the gym. Much to his displeasure, he saw Ray Palmer by one of the treadmills. Oliver rolled his eyes, but went by him anyway. _He wasn’t going to miss his cardio because of this asshole_. He put his water bottle and his phone on the floor next to the machine of his choice and started stretching.

‘Oliver?’ he heard the jerk’s voice.

He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw. _There we go_ … He put on a stiff smile and turned to face the other man.

‘Hey, _Ray_.’

‘My, my. I didn’t know you were interested in these kinds of events.’

‘Um, I’ve been going to these cons for the past three years, so…’

‘Yeah, but… You know…’ the other man said. _What did that mean_?

‘I actually don’t.’ Oliver said and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

‘Nothing. I’m glad to see you here.’ Ray just shrugged his shoulders and moved on the treadmill next to Oliver. _What a meddlesome guy_!

Oliver started running on his machine and Ray followed. With his peripheral vision Oliver saw the idiot steal glances at his direction. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, obviously wanting to say something. Finally, after creeping on Oliver for a couple of minutes, Ray spoke:

‘So, buddy…’ he cleared his throat as they were running.

_Was that dude serious?_

‘I want to ask you something… Guy to guy.’

Oliver grit his teeth and turned to look the other man in the eyes.

‘Sure. Go ahead.’

‘I was wondering…’ Ray started as they were running. ‘Now that you and Felicity Smoak are business partners… Are you… close?’

‘Well… You could say that.’ Oliver said and turned his face away from Ray.

‘Do you know if she’s seeing someone?’ Ray asked, the hope in his voice so crystal clear.

Oliver wanted to punch the guy in the face. _The audacity of him_!

‘I’m… I’m not sure.’ Oliver stopped his machine, lifted his things from the floor and moved to the weights section. He heard steps behind and when he turned he saw Palmer following his steps. _Didn’t that guy give up?_

‘Do you have an idea where she is, by the way? I mean, which room she’s in? I still haven’t had the chance to talk with her.’ Ray lifted his bottle and took a gulp of his water. Oliver wanted to push it up, so that the idiot would choke. He didn’t, though. He went for another tactic.

‘Well, she’s actually staying in my room.’ 

Palmer stopped and looked into his eyes. He slightly narrowed his eyes to look closer at Oliver.

‘In-in _your_ room?’ he asked as if to make sure he’d heard right.

‘Yes, I think she’s sleeping. She was when I left.’ Oliver once again crossed his arms sending a challenge to the other man.

They stared at each other, no one saying anything more. At this moment Palmer realized he couldn’t get Oliver’s help on anything Felicity-related. He just let out a humorless chuckle and shook his head slightly.

‘I see…’ he looked Oliver up and down. ‘Well, I should head out. My workout is done.’

‘Okay, yeah.’ Oliver said and followed Ray with his gaze as he left the room.

 _Shit!_ He shouldn’t have done that… It totally sounded as if they’re hooking up and if Felicity found out she would be pissed off again. Oliver sighed and rubbed his eyes. He didn’t know what had happened, but something inside made him talk like that to Palmer. Something made him want to push Palmer away from her. _What?_ Oliver didn’t know.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

Later that night, Felicity and Oliver decided to head to town and eat out. They called a cab and went to the museum first. They saw amazing ice sculptures and taxidermied animals. Felicity didn’t like that part of the museum since she thought it was extremely cruel to the animals. Then they went to the section with different photographs. Oliver was looking at the album with animal photography when he heard her calling him.

‘Oliver! Come here!’ she called out and looked at him with wide eyes. ‘I didn’t mean come like _come_ , I meant it like… get closer to me… Not like that! I meant… 3-2-1.’ she closed her eyes and released a heavy sigh. ‘You know what I mean.’

‘I do, Felicity.’ He laughed at her little rambling. ‘What is it?’

‘Look! Aurora.’ He looked down at the pictures.

‘What?’ he looked at her confused.

‘Aurora. The Northern lights.’ She explained. ‘It is basically solar particles blown into the Earth’s magnetic field more than 60 miles above the Earth’s surface. The resulting ionization and excitation of atmospheric constituents emits light of varying colors and complexity. Precipitating protons generally produce optical emissions as incident hydrogen atoms after gaining electrons from the atmosphere.’

She stopped to look at him and started laughing.

‘You didn’t understand a thing, did you?’ she grinned at him and he saw the little dimples on her sides.

‘No, I’m sorry.’ He smiled apologetically.

‘It’s fine. Well, Alaska natives once believed the lights had mystical powers. Some believed those were the spirits of the dead, controlling our lives, guiding us on our path to self-knowledge.’ Their eyes met once again. Her blue orbs quickly hovered all around his face, before she looked down at the album again. ‘Anyway, I just… I wanted to explain that it’s just simple physics. Nothing magical about it.’

Half an hour later they finished their tour around the museum and walked out. Despite the thick snow layer on the ground, the weather was calm. It wasn’t freezing cold, there wasn’t a strong wind. It was pleasantly cool. As they were passing by a shop, Oliver stole a glance at the mirror and saw them together. _Wow, they looked like a couple_! They had matching black coats, she was wearing heels but she was still at his shoulder level, making their height difference perfect…

A couple of minutes later they arrived at the diner the taxi driver on their first day had offered them. ‘Paxton’s Taste’. Oliver held the door for her to walk in and followed her. The diner was welcoming with tables on all sides; there was a snooker table in the middle and a little stage for karaoke nights. Since they were newly-arrived, _of course_ everyone had to turn their heads to look at them. The weird-looking men, who were playing snooker, stopped and smirked at Felicity as she and Oliver walked past them. Oliver felt her press slightly into him and instinctively wrapped his arm around her shoulder to shield her from those men’s eyes. They found a little table by the window and sat across each other, before taking their coats off.

‘Welcome to ‘Paxton’s taste’ y’all.’ A curly redhead woman stood up in front of them. Her green eye shadow was sparkling and her bright pink lips were hideous next Felicity’s, Oliver thought. She was chewing a gum loudly while she was smiling brightly at them. Oliver looked at the badge on her breasts which said ‘Meg’. ‘What can I get ya, sweethearts?’

‘Um. Can we please have a menu?’ Felicity asked her and the woman laughed. He and Felicity exchanged a confused look.

‘Oh, honey…’ the woman wiped a tear that had escaped her eye. ‘Does this place look like it has menus?’

‘I’ll have the Caesar salad and a glass of red wine then.’ Felicity smiled up at the woman.

‘I’ll have a-’ Oliver started before the woman burst out laughing again.

‘Oh my God, you two.’ She kept on giggling. ‘You’re not from here, are you?’

‘Um…’

‘You’re from that business thingy for sure. That explains it all.’ Meg said as she shook her head. ‘We’re a small diner, loves. We don’t have wines and… Augustus salads.’

‘It’s Caesar, actually.’ Felicity corrected her.

‘Whatever, dear. We make delicious burgers, French fries, ham sandwiches and pizzas and we have the best beer in Alaska.’

Oliver and Felicity looked at each other again. He bit his lips to hold back his laughter and she just shook her head.

‘How about we share a pizza?’ he offered.

‘Well, okay. What pizzas can you offer?’

‘There’s only one, love.’ Meg chuckled again. ‘Beer-caramelized onion and bacon pizza’

‘Great.’ Felicity said sarcastically. ‘We’ll have that.’

‘And two of those beers of yours.’ Oliver added.

‘Sure thing, hot stuff.’ She wrote down on her little notebook. ‘Well, we have special offers for couples. 50% discount. You’re a couple, I believe.’

Just as Oliver was opening his mouth to deny, Felicity spoke faster.

‘Yes, yes, we are.’ 

‘Okay. I’ll be back in about… twenty minutes. Enjoy your night!’ Meg winked and walked away.

Oliver looked at Felicity and blinked a couple of times.

‘What?’ she asked. ‘I may be rich, but I still love getting discounts.’ She chuckled.

Oliver was speechless. Holy shit! She just said they were a couple. That she’s his girlfriend. That he’s her boyfriend… A couple. Kissing each other, and holding each other, and making love to each other. Oliver knew she had lied for the discount but a strange feeling rushed through his veins and he couldn’t describe it. The thought of being her boyfriend made his stomach clench… Then he decided that it was his hunger speaking because why else would he feel this way?

After half an hour of small talk, their pizza and beer finally arrived.

‘So…’ Oliver started as he took a bite of his slice. _Damn! It was really good_. ‘I ran into Palmer today at the gym.’

‘Yeah?’ she asked while she was chewing. Her eyes were closed as she was savoring the deliciousness of their pizza.

‘Mhm. He asked about you.’

‘Really?’ she asked suspiciously. ‘What about me?’

‘Well, nothing in particular. He asked if you were seeing someone… Things like that.’ He said and realized his voice was a pitch higher than usual. He cleared his throat and took another bite.

‘Oh…’ she stopped eating and stood still for a moment. Oliver saw something flash in her eyes before she asked him. ‘And what did you say?’

‘I…’ Oliver took a sip of his beer. ‘I told him I didn’t know.’

‘O-okay…’ she bit her bottom lip. ‘I’m not.’

‘You’re not what?’ he asked. He had stopped eating too and now they were just looking at each other from across the table.

‘I’m… I’m not seeing anyone.’

There was a silence _. A long silence_.

‘Why… Why is that?’ he asked.

‘Well, I don’t really know… I had a boyfriend a couple of months ago, actually.’

‘Yeah?’

‘Yeah. He and I started dating in our last year in MIT and when we finished, we moved here together. Then I became a CEO. He didn’t work in a company, he had a business of his own… Some loyal clients he had made. One day I got home early from work, and caught him with another girl. Typical.’

Oliver swallowed hard, reminding himself of the numerous times he had cheated on Laurel.

‘I’m very sorry to hear that.’

‘I never understood cheaters… If you’re not happy in a relationship, just… end it.’ She said and Oliver felt her indirect critic towards him.

‘Felicity… it’s… Usually, cheaters are… people insecure about themselves.’

‘Were _you_ insecure?’ she asked raising an eyebrow.

‘I…’ he started. ‘I guess I was, yeah. Laurel was pretty and smart, and I was a douche. When a girl like that is interested in you, it’s like… you feel sort of obliged to be with her. Deep inside you know you don’t deserve her, but she likes you anyway. The cheating comes from the fact that you don’t really like her, you just like the idea of being with her.’

She looked at him and Oliver saw everything he wanted in her eyes. She was scared. Scared of commitment. This girl had been cheated on and abandoned by guys like him. He fisted his hands on the table and just as he was about to talk, a voice interrupted him.

‘Hello, hello!’

Oliver and Felicity looked at the small stage and saw a short and not-so-slim bald man speaking in the microphone.

‘Hello and welcome to everyone!’ a round of applause were given to him and he just bowed down. ‘Anyway, I’m not a big talker and I HATE long speeches.’ The crowd laughed. ‘So, I just want all couples up on their feet for a chance to have a free diner, yo!’

All couples slowly got up and Oliver looked at Felicity, who was nipping her lower lip between her teeth nervously.

‘Hey, you two!’ Oliver saw Meg waving and shouting at them from the other end of the place. ‘C’mon, hot stuff, pull her up!’

Oliver chuckled and turned his head in Felicity’s direction. He smiled and got up before walking to her side. Her eyes widened and she shook her head rapidly. He extended his hand for her to take.

‘C’mon, Felicity!’ he grinned at her.

Hesitantly and slowly, _oh so slowly_ , she took his hand and he gave her a gentle squeeze. When all the couple were on their feet, the music started. Even though the song wasn’t a slow ballad, Oliver pulled her close and put his left hand on her waist while his right hand was still holding hers.

‘Adele! Water under the bridge! Enjoy and may the hottest and most loving couple win!’ The guy shouted and left the stage.

As Felicity put her left hand on his shoulder, they started swaying. Oliver looked around and looked at other couples: old, young, tall, short, mixed, smiley, serious, dancing to the beat. Oliver felt an extreme nervousness and tried to keep it down by focusing on the song instead.

_‘If you’re not the one for me, then how come I can bring you to your knees?_

_If you’re not the one for me, why do I hate the idea of being free?_

_If I’m not the one for you, you’ve gotta stop holding me the way you do._

_Oh, honey, if I’m not the one for you, why have we been through what we have been through?’_

Oliver swallowed hard. He looked down to see Felicity’s face at the same time she looked up. Their eyes met and suddenly it was only the two of them. Oliver couldn’t hear the laughs and shouts around them anymore. He couldn’t see the other couples and the people watching. It was just him, her and the song. He pulled her closer trying to catch her reaction. She swallowed and let go of his right hand. _Shit!_ She must’ve felt how wrong this whole thing was. Oliver felt the lack of her warm palm hit him through the chest. _Why was he feeling like this?_ He was about to step away from her when the hand that had just slipped from his, wrapped around his neck followed by her other hand. She pulled him slightly lower and closer. His right hand found its way around her waist enveloping her in a tight embrace. Their bodies were now pressed into each other with every possible inch.

_‘If you’re gonna let me down, let me down gently._

_Don’t pretend that you don’t want me._

_Our love ain’t water under the bridge._

_If you’re gonna let me down, let me down gently._

_Don’t pretend that you don’t want me._

_Our love ain’t water under the bridge._

_Say that our love ain’t water under the bridge.’_

Her fingers moved and soon they were caressing his head, playing with his short strands of hair. Oliver closed his eyes and allowed himself to play the part. They were a couple. They could kiss, and touch, and love each other. _At least that’s how they had to act right now_. His head dropped to her shoulder and he breathed her in. She smelled like vanilla orchid and berries and it was just so… her. _So Felicity_. He pressed his nose into the crook of her neck while her grip on his shoulders and head tightened. Oliver didn’t know if it was the song, or tension, or the act they had to give, but they were holding onto each other like lost lovers. _Which they were not!_ She pulled her head away from his just slightly and blue was looking into blue again. She looked so beautiful at this moment and Oliver blinked as if he was taking a picture with his eyes. A picture he would keep with himself. Before he knew it, their faces were even closer, noses touching, lips painfully close. Her hands were still in his hair and on his shoulder, his were wrapped around her like a second skin, her eyes were now closed and her mouth was open taking slow breaths. He could do this. He could close the distance between them with just tilting his head and…

‘Y’all are making it too hard for us to choose just one winner!’ a voice interrupted his inner thoughts.

And suddenly, it was over. Felicity’s eyes were open and her face was away from his. Oliver felt her distance herself and let go of her waist, at the same time she dropped her hands from his neck.

‘We’ll come back to you in half an hour with to announce the winner.’ The man said while laughing and left the stage.

Oliver and Felicity silently walked back to their table and sat down again. There was an awkward tension between them and Oliver wished for it to end. She took a sip of her beer and reached for another slice of pizza. He just watched her, wondering what had just happened. When he couldn’t take it anymore, he excused himself and went to the bathroom. He stayed there for a minute or two and washed his hands and face. He looked in the mirror and caught his reflection. His pupils were wide, his eyes uncertain, and he was panting. _What was happening?_ He was never nervous, he was Oliver Queen! _What the hell?_

He took a couple of deep breaths and walked out. He had caught a glimpse of their table in the distance, when he saw another man sitting on his side across her. He felt his blood boiling in his veins and paced faster. The man’s hair was with medium length, he was wearing a cowboy hat _in the winter, in Alaska! What an idiot!_ He had tattoos on his fingers and Oliver assumed that underneath the leather jacket, there were a lot more. He looked 25-ish. Two huge men were right next to him, laughing at something he’d said. Oliver was almost by the table and heard the words coming out of the man’s disgusting mouth.

‘C’mon, sweetie. Fuck that boyfriend of yours and I’ll show you a good time.’

‘Am I interrupting?’ Oliver asked when he reached them. He glanced at Felicity who was visibly uncomfortable. He put his hand on her shoulder and she immediately relaxed.

‘Yeah, actually you are.’ The man smirked and turned to her. ‘Him? Really?’

Oliver clenched his hands into fists, as the two morons behind their ‘leader’ laughed.

‘No offence, but you look kind of stuck up, dude.’ The greasy dude said as he drank Oliver’s beer.

‘None taken.’ Oliver said through gritted teeth. ‘Felicity, I think it’s time for us to go.’

‘Does he boss you around like that all the time? Please, don’t leave because of me.’ The jerk said with pretend politeness. ‘I mean… _you_ can go if you want, but your lady… I’d like to have a private… talk with her.’

Felicity stood up and wrapped her arms around Oliver’s bicep. He instinctively put her slightly behind him.

‘Let’s go, Oliver.’ She said.

‘Oliver! Beautiful name.’ The idiots laughed. ‘It’s almost too gay to be gay.’

Oliver took a step towards the man but Felicity gripped him tighter.

‘Please, let’s go. Now.’ She said. ‘He’s just trying to provoke you.’

Oliver felt her warm breath in his neck and his tense muscles relaxed underneath her fingers. He just nodded and took her arm to lead her to the till to pay, when the man and his companions stepped in front of them.

‘Babe, c’mon. Are you _really_ into that kind of man?’

‘Yes, I am. Honestly, _everything’s_ better than you.’ She said.

‘Really, _bitch_?’ the man was starting to get pissed.

‘Yeah. _Bitch_!’ Oliver said mimicking his voice.

 He just couldn’t stand it anymore so he just punched the guy right in the face. All heads turned to look at them. _Holy shit! He had just punched somebody!_ Oliver wasn’t really an aggressive person. Yeah, he went boxing to cool off and to let go of some of the pressure on him, but he had never really used his skills outside of the gym. Up until now.

The guy turned around to face them again, a slim line of blood coming down from his nose. He wiped it with his thumb and let out a humorless chuckle. Before Oliver could realize what was going on, the guy had punched him back right in the cheekbone. From then on everything happened really fast. The two monkeys came for him and tried hitting him, while the main guy stayed on the side. Oliver could feel his anger building up. Those guys may have been big, but he was smart and fast and _enraged_. With a couple of precise strikes and kicks, and a couple of chairs he had used to hit them with, they were on the ground. They had hit him a couple of times in the stomach and face, but he had managed to knock them down anyway. He just turned to face the third guy, but he was faster and hit Oliver right in the eye. _That hurt like a motherfucker! It was definitely going to be blue tomorrow._ The guy was leaning down, and was about to hit him again, when suddenly he was interrupted.

‘Hey, asshole!’ Felicity shouted before punching him in the face.

She might be petite, but she held such strength in her, that he fell down.

‘That one’s for punching my _boyfriend’s_ beautiful face.’ She said and just as the idiot was about to get up she landed another fist in his face. ‘And that was for disrespecting _me_!’

Oliver was stunned. His eyes were wide and his mouth was open, when she looked at him. She tugged a piece of hair behind her ear and leaned down to help him up. He couldn’t stop staring at her.

‘What?’ She chuckled.

‘Is your _boyfriend’s_ face still beautiful?’ he grinned at her widely and immediately regretted it. His face was beaten up and it hurt like hell when he moved even a single muscle.

‘Well,’ she took his face in her hands as her fingers gently glided across it. ‘Your lip is bleeding and your cheekbone and eye are going blue.’ She burrowed her eyebrows. ‘Other than that, it’s alright.’

He chuckled and looked around. There were a couple of broken chairs, two unconscious gorillas lying on the ground, one creep weeping on the floor because he got beaten up by a girl and a lot of shocked faces. He met Meg’s wide eyes and quickly pulled his wallet out of his pocket. Felicity and he went up to the shocked woman and he got out a 10 dollar bill.

‘This is for dinner.’ Then got two 100 dollar bills and placed it in front of the older woman. ‘…And this is for new chairs.’

He grinned at Meg as much as the pain in his face allowed and saw Felicity doing the same. He turned to face her and smiled softly at her, which she mimicked. He felt her hand sliding in his and then she pulled him to the door.

As they left hand in hand, laughing at their night, Oliver felt alive. Yeah, he was beaten up, but his heart was light, and his hand was full. His hand was holding the hand of a woman, so badass, and so beautiful and magical. Her touch was enough to dull the physical ache he was feeling, and Oliver realized she was the healing he had needed his whole life.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it! Comments and kudos make me happy *wink*


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Felicity have a small and relaxed chat + they witness some magic. *wink*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!   
> So, this chapter is much more chill, hope you like it.   
> Poster by the talanted Victoria. All mistakes are mine.  
> Happy reading. :)

 Oliver and Felicity slowly walked back to their hotel, enjoying the calm weather and lazy wind. Giggling, they finally reached their room and got in.

‘What a night!’ she exclaimed and threw herself on the bed.

‘Tell me about it!’ he said as he took off his coat. ‘Felicity?’

‘Mmm?’ she said as she turned to lay on her stomach.

‘You’re on my side.’ He grinned at her, looking at her lower back wishing that _damn_ coat was off so he could admire her _glorious assets_.

‘Boo-hoo!’ she chuckled. ‘You can sleep on the other side.’

‘You need to take your clothes off.’ He said as he unbuttoned his shirt and reached for his T-shirt.

‘You know…’ she said as she turned on her back to face him. He couldn’t not notice how she eyed his torso before he put his shirt on, trying his best not to smirk. ‘If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’re trying to get me naked.’ She grinned teasingly. He laughed and she followed.

‘Seriously, though.’ He said. ‘You need to change into your so-called pajamas. Also, please move to your side.’

‘Oh my God, you sound like a maniac!’ she chuckled. ‘What’s with you and this side of the bed?’

‘I just… I’m used to sleeping on the right side.’

‘I’m pretty sure you slept on the left side five years ago.’ She said and bit her lips.

 Oliver understood that she didn’t mean to say that out loud as her eyes widened and then shut quickly. Obviously, their one night stand was a taboo topic for them. It was a mutual and silent agreement between the two- to not talk about it. He had broken it once at the press for Unidac, and now she had, so that makes them… even?

‘I’m pretty sure we slept on each other so… there weren’t really sides.’ He heard himself saying.

Oliver could once again feel tension and awkwardness as she sat up and slightly narrowed her eyes. Then she took off her coat and moved on the right side. Oliver smiled tightly and went in the bathroom. He brushed his teeth and washed his face, as his _traitorous_ mind went five years back…

_They had spent at least 4 hours restless in bed, tossing, turning, laughing, kissing, touching… It was late when she had told him that she couldn’t go on any longer and that she was too tired for more. He had been disappointed, because this was the best sexual experience in his life and it had come to an end. Laurel had been quite inactive these days and very often ‘had headaches’ or ‘wasn’t in the mood’, while this girl here had gone over four ‘rounds’ with him… Oliver had been with a lot of women, but none of them had been so… giving. This girl had allowed him to do everything he wanted and in return, he had done the same. He had felt, both, powerful and powerless; strong and fragile. For the first time ever, Oliver had wanted to give his best, to be a dedicated lover and had been making sure she was having just as much fun as him, that she was enjoying his company as much as he was enjoying hers … In the end, the huge amount of alcohol and the fatigue had taken their toll on him, so he had just given up and had fallen asleep with the girl in his arms, half her body on top of his…_

 

Oliver threw a handful of water on his face and took a deep breath. _Stop it!_ He dried up his face on the towel and shook his head violently in a pathetic attempt to get rid of his previous thoughts. By the time he was out, she was dressed in her pajamas and was tapping her foot nervously while sitting on the edge of the bed. She silently walked around him and sneaked into the bathroom. Oliver lied on his side of the bed and felt her scent on his pillow. _That woman!_ He inhaled deep taking in the sweet smell of vanilla orchid, and wild berries that she had left... He stood there for a couple of minutes, just breathing her scent in, when the bathroom door opened and she got into the bed on her side.

‘Felicity?’ he spoke to get her attention, to make her turn around to face him.

‘Yes?’

‘What’s that perfume of yours?’

She chuckled.

‘I don’t have one perfume, Oliver. You have to be more specific.’

‘The one that smells like vanilla.’ He said and put his left arm underneath his head, and now they were face to face, lying on their sides.

‘It’s Victoria’s Secret. It’s my go-to perfume. It’s not my favorite, but I like it for every day at work or whatever.’ She smiled.

‘I think it might be my favorite, though.’ Oliver smiled back lazily.

‘I like your ‘Acqua Di Gio’ one.’ She said and grinned at him.

‘How do you know it? Not many women are familiar with male perfumes.’ he asked in surprise.

‘Oh, trust me, we are. We love smelling male perfumes. We just don’t sniff around to make it obvious.’ She said cheekily.

‘So, who else had such perfume?’ Oliver asked.

‘Well… I know that Barry has it and…’ She answered and Oliver couldn’t stop the roll of his eyes.

‘Then I have to find myself a new one.’ He said.

‘No, you shouldn’t. It suits you very much.’

Their eyes met again and both smiled at each other.

‘Felicity?’

‘Yes, Oliver?’

‘Wanna play a game?’

She chuckled but Oliver saw the spark in her eyes. She loved games.

‘What game are we playing?’

‘Well,’ he started. ‘I ask a question, you answer. Then you ask a question, and I answer.’

‘Aren’t we too old for this?’ she giggled. ‘I feel like I’m in high school again.’

‘When did you lose your virginity?’ he shot out.

‘I…’ her eyes widened and then she laughed again. ‘When did _you_ lose yours?’

‘I was 14.’ He answered.

‘So you’ve been sexing here and there for… What? 15 years?’ she asked again.

‘No. I’m 26, so that means only 12 years of sexing around.’ He chuckled.

‘I was 17.’ She said.

‘I… wasn’t your first, was I? Because you were 17 when… When I met you.’

‘No, don’t worry.’ She laughed. ‘Who was your first?’

‘It was…’ he took a deep breath. ‘It was Laurel’s best friend from high school- Molly.’

‘Oh, wow…’ Felicity said and slightly shook her head. ‘You really messed it up with Laurel, didn’t you?’

‘Yeah… Good thing it’s over now. I’m just sick of hurting her.’ Oliver shrugged his shoulders.

‘Did you… love her?’ Felicity asked silently.

‘I… Yeah, I guess. But not in the way she needed to be loved.’

‘I don’t understand.’ She furrowed her eyebrows.

‘I grew up with her, she’s always been in my life. She’s very important to me and I loved her… I just wasn’t in love with her.’ He tried to explain.

‘I see…’ Felicity looked at the wall behind him.

‘I’m glad that she found happiness with Tommy, you know.’ Oliver spoke again. ‘At first, I thought it would be awkward and I thought I’d be hurt, but I wasn’t. When I saw them out as a couple, I realized that there had always been something between them. Tommy looked at her the same way he did, when she was with me… That’s when I realized that, _obviously_ , I never really paid enough attention to her... or him.’

Felicity was listening to his confession silently and suddenly Oliver chuckled nervously.

‘What?’ she asked and smiled back at him.

‘Nothing, it’s just I’m…’ he sat up and leaned on the bed frame. ‘I’m not used to sharing that much. I… don’t know. It’s weird.’ She smiled at him softly as he grinned cockily at her. ‘There’s something about you, Smoak.’

‘Oh, well, _Queen_ …’ she looked up at him and emphasized his name teasingly. ‘I have one of those faces, making people feel relaxed.’

‘You really do.’ He said. ‘I think it’s my turn to ask now.’

‘I’m not sure, but go ahead.’ She smiled.

‘Tell me about your first time.’

‘I’m pretty sure that’s not a question.’ She said and raised an eyebrow.

‘Fine. What was your first time like and who was it with? Better?’ he smirked.

‘Better. Well, I don’t really think you know the guy since he’s from Vegas, but… His name was Dean. He was a year older than me. We went to this punk rock party or whatever, in a dark basement… Lots of alcohol, and drugs and goths and rockers all around… When we’d had enough, he drove me back home and then he kissed me and then we… you know.’

‘Oh my God!’ Oliver exclaimed and started laughing.

‘What? Whaaaat?’ she asked and joined his laugh.

‘That just so cliché- losing your virginity in a car.’ He remarked.

‘Ha-ha, funny.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘What about you, _Ollie?_ Where did you bang Molly?’

‘I _banged_ Molly in a classroom.’ He shook his head from embarrassment.

‘Oh my God!’

Oliver expected her to scold his past actions, but once again she surprised him by laughing out loud. _That woman!_

‘Now, that’s something!’ she clapped her hands as she was trying to calm herself down. ‘Didn’t you get caught?’

‘No.’ he burst out laughing with her too.

‘You lucky son of a bitch...’ She remarked. ‘I didn’t mean to say your mum’s a bitch. I’ve heard this and that but I haven’t met her personally so I can’t say if she’s a bitch or not. People say she is. I shouldn’t have said that! No one wants to hear bad things about their mother. GOD! Feel free to shut me up anytime.’

He looked at her amazed and started laughing and soon after that she joined. They laughed like this for a little while and Oliver realized how easy it was. Often when he joked around with people, they wouldn’t understand and would look at him like he was crazy. A lot of times, Laurel would get offended by his jokes and would start giving him lectures about how wrong the joke had been. Felicity on the other hand, had the same twisted humor as him. When he was teasing her, she didn’t feel insulted. She just grinned and told him he’s an idiot or she teased him back.

‘My turn, right?’ she asked.

‘I don’t even know.’ he laughed as he lowered himself till he was lying next to her, looking into her beautiful blue eyes.

‘This is a bit more serious.’ She put a straight face on. ‘What are we going to do about Isabel’s offer?’

‘Ugh.’ Oliver put his whole arm on his face and turned on his back. ‘I don’t know… I guess we should accept.’

‘Really?’ she asked. ‘Okay, I know this is not a good reason, but I don’t like her and I don’t really want to work with her. If she’s out investor she’d have a lot of access to the company and would be all up our business.’

‘Yes, trust me, I don’t want to work with her more that you do, but she has enough money and Unidac is really at the bottom.’

‘See, that’s why I opened a science department.’

‘Yeah, but having new people to pay to… With what money?’

‘I’ve been thinking about an auction or something. Or get a loan. Anything that isn’t Isabel Rochev.’

‘Why do you dislike her so much?’ Oliver finally asked this question that’s been in the back of his mind for a while.

‘Well, long story short, while I was in MIT, she offered me a position in her IT department. However, I’d heard that she’s a pain in the ass. So I declined. Ever since I took over Sanderson Industries, she’s been trying to bring me down. She often said I was too young, unexperienced and stuff like that… So, I don’t really want to work with a woman that wants to tear me down.’ She said as she shrugged her shoulders.

‘Felicity,’ Oliver reached out and took her hand in his, giving her a light squeeze. ‘I just want you to know that you’re much stronger than her. So, her tearing you down… it’s not possible.’ He smiled softly at her. ‘Even if she tries, she will never succeed… Because you’re my partner and I’ve got your back. I would never let that happen.’

‘Thank you.’ She squeezed his hand back and pulled him closer to her for a hug. ‘I really appreciate it.’

It was an uncomfortable position, but Oliver didn’t dare move. Because Felicity had hugged him and he didn’t want to let go of her. _This strange feeling again!_ Oliver was trying to think of a reason why he was so happy and content here in her arms, when an unthinkable explanation occurred to him… _Did he like her? He didn’t… Did he?_ He just knew he didn’t hate her anymore. As a matter of fact, he was wondering if he ever really hated her. Yes, they had times when they didn’t get along, but was it for real? ...

‘Oliver?’

‘Yeah?’

‘You’re kind of heavy.’ She said as she chuckled.

‘Oh, right!’ he lifted himself off of her. ‘Sorry.’

He lied down next to her and turned to face her again.

‘So, Felicity,’ he started. ‘Thea’s been talking a lot about you.’

‘What is she saying?’ Felicity smiled at him.

‘She really likes you, you know…’ he smiled back at her. ‘She mentioned something about the two of you going to Paris a while ago.’

‘Oh, yeah…’ she laughed. ‘She was keen on finding me a French boyfriend since, I quote ‘they’re good lovers’.’

‘What?’ Oliver frowned. ‘You don’t need a French boyfriend. French men are assholes. They are pushy and handsy and what does Thea know about lovers, she’s only 20 and-’

He was interrupted by her laughter. He stopped and looked confused at her direction.

‘Why are you getting so fired up?’ she asked in between her laugh.

 _Why was he, though?_ For a second he imagined Thea and Felicity walking down the Parisian streets, giggling and carrying their shopping bags. Then a tall dark-haired perfectly-shaved guy accidentally bumps into Felicity, and she stares at him wide-eyed and he smiles with his flawless jaw as if he is at a photo shoot. He asks her out and she says yes. The same night she’s wearing a tight red dress and he takes her on top of the Eiffel Tower where they have dinner. Then he takes her back to his place and _things_ happen. Things that make Oliver want to vomit and beat the shit out of a man he doesn’t even know. A man that might not exist outside of his imagination.

‘I’m not…’ he said and turned on his back to face the ceiling. ‘Anyway…’

‘If we go to Paris, guys are the last thing I’ll be looking at.’ He looked at her curiously waiting for her to finish. ‘I’m going to get myself some new shoes and bags.’

He rolled his eyes and chuckled.

‘You, women, and your bags and shoes.’ He shook his head as she lightly slapped his bicep. ‘It’s my turn to ask now.’

‘Is it really?’ she looked at him suspiciously.

‘I’m pretty sure it is, yeah.’

‘Go ahead, then. Ask.’

‘Have you ever been pulled over by a cop?’

‘Oh, God...’ She covered her face with her hands.

‘That looks like a ‘Yes’.’ He leaned on his arm. ‘Spill.’

‘When I was 16, I was going to have my driving test… I got a little cocky with the guy that was testing me, so he didn’t let me pass. A couple of days later, my school’s headmaster asked me to go to this science competition. My mother was working and there was nobody who could take me so I took the car and went on my own.’

‘But… you didn’t have a license?’ He guessed.

‘Yeah… and I got pulled over. Just my luck…’ she laughed and shook her head. ‘I couldn’t present a license so he took me to jail.’

‘No way!’ Oliver exclaimed.

‘He did!’ Felicity nodded. ‘I was going to spend the night in prison, but luckily I had my phone in my boot and I hacked into their system. I made it look like I passed my driving test and was just waiting for the document itself.’

‘Oh, wow… so you’re a criminal.’ He said teasingly.

‘Well, it sounds bad when you say it like this…’ she furrowed an eyebrow.

‘So did he let you out?’

‘No.’ she said and he laughed. ‘My mum picked me up the next day. It’s funny. She was supposed to be angry with me, but she actually said she was proud I had managed to drive this far on my own.’ She smiled and closed her eyes and Oliver knew she was remembering the exact moment.

‘Your mom sounds cool.’

‘Oh, wait till you meet her- she’s gonna be entertaining for 10 minutes, and then you’ll be running away from her.’ She said and her eyes widened. ‘I didn’t want to say that… I mean… I’m not suggesting that you meet my mum, because that would be weird because she’s my mum and you’re nobody… I mean not _nobody_ , you’re obviously somebody! I meant you don’t really have anything to do with my mother and you shouldn’t meet her. I was talking hypothetically when I said that!’

‘I understand, don’t worry about it.’ He said and smiled tightly. ‘Although, I would like to meet your mom… Someday.’

She looked up and met his gaze. Her face was clear off any makeup from earlier, soft blonde waves fell from the pillow like waterfalls, a surprised look on her face, a half and uncertain smile forming on her lips. She looked too beautiful to be real and for a moment Oliver was wondering if he was dreaming.

‘Someday… maybe.’ She said quietly.

At this point Oliver was fighting the strong desire to lean forward and place a kiss on her lips. _What was wrong with him?_ _What was he thinking?_

‘So…’ she spoke and interrupted his thoughts. ‘My turn?’

‘Mhm.’ He said with through a clenched jaw.

‘What’s your favorite TV show?’ she asked.

‘I don’t have much time for TV but… I guess I like ‘Scandal’ and ‘Houses of Cards’. ’

‘No shit! I love these too.’ She exclaimed.

‘Yeah?’ he smiled.

‘Yeah.’

‘I also watch ‘Hockey Wives’ sometimes.’ He confessed.

‘I also like ‘Doctor Who’. And ‘How I met your mother’ and ‘The Nanny’. Niles was my spirit animal.’ She shook her head and they chuckled together. ‘I don’t even know how, but I manage to have enough free time to follow a lot of shows.’

‘Did you play any sports at school?’ he asked out of the blue.

‘I…’ she bit her lips and her cheeks flushed. ‘I used to do yoga.’

‘No way!’ he looked at her incredulously. ‘Felicity Smoak, a rebellious and sassy goth doing yoga?’

‘What’s your problem?’ she slapped his arm again.

‘I just… I can’t really imagine you doing yoga.’

‘I’m actually still pretty good at it.’ She stated confidently.

‘Yeah?’ he put on his _Ollie_ grin. ‘Why don’t you show me?’

‘I showed you enough five years ago.’ She said automatically and put her hands over her mouth.

It was obvious to him by this point that she often thought about their first meeting. Just like him. It made him feel good. That she remembered too. And he was certain that there was no way they would be forgetting it anytime soon.

‘Felicity, what are your pet-peeves?’ he asked in an attempt to break the tension.

‘Apart from cheaters? I hate people who put others down, or are too bossy. I mean, yes, I’m somebody’s boss as well, but I try to be friendly with my employees. It’s more helpful. When you’re nice to somebody and when you show your support and belief in them, they’ll do better. That’s why my company is doing okay. Because my employees are happy and love their job and that makes _me_ happy.’

‘Felicity…’ their eyes met. ‘You’re remarkable.’

‘Thank you for remarking on it.’ She smiled sweetly at him. ‘Anyway… My question is: What is the sexiest animal according to you?’

‘Oh, that one’s hard…’ he furrowed his eyebrows, pretending he was thinking hard as she grinned. ‘I’m a dog person, but I think that cats are sexier.’

‘Have you seen a husky?’ she asked. ‘They’re extremely sexy.’

‘You have a thing for dogs?’ he wondered.

‘It’s just I’m a dog person, too.’ She laughed. ‘I’d love to get myself a dog one day.’

‘Yeah, me too.’ He said. ‘Why don’t we go get ourselves dogs these days? Not together. I’ll find one for myself, and you’ll find one for yourself. We could just do it… together.’

‘Sure… why not.’

‘Felicity, you’re one of the smartest people I know.’ He started.

‘Aww, thank you.’

‘But…’ he cut her off.

‘But…?’ she raised an eyebrow.

‘Have you ever cheated on an exam?’ he asked.

‘I have…’ she answered and Oliver saw her cheeks turning red. ‘I used to study Russian, but I was having such a hard time learning it- it’s so different than English… So, I cheated on most of the tests…’

‘I can speak Russian, you know that?’ he said cheekily.

‘What? How?’ she asked in shock.

‘Growing up, we had a maid- Raisa. She was Russian and when I was a kid, she used to teach me.’

‘Oh, wow… That’s nice. Can you say something in Russian to me?’ she wondered.

‘Sure. What do you want me to say?’

‘Introduce yourself.’

‘Меня зовут Оливер Куин.’ He said and she smiled. ‘It means ‘My name is Oliver Queen’. ’

‘Yeah, I understood that.’ She giggled. ‘Is it my turn to ask?’

‘Do you have a question?’

‘Yes.’ She simply said.

 ‘Go ahead.’

‘If you could read anybody’s mind, whose would you want to read?’ she bit her lip, expecting an answer.

A long pause followed in which they just looked into each other’s eyes. Oliver finally spoke.

‘Yours.’

‘Mine?’ her eyes widened.

‘Yours.’

‘Why do you want to read my mind?’

‘I don’t know.’ He said and leaned closer to her. ‘I just want to.’

Their faces were mere inches away and Oliver could smell her minty breath and could see the small freckles on her nose. Her mouth was parted slightly and her lips were chapped. Her eyes were looking at his, unreadable expression on her face.

‘I want to know what’s on your mind in moments like this one.’ He said and found her hand with his, tangling their fingers together. ‘I’m usually good at reading people’s faces, Felicity… You’re the only person whose expressions are a total mystery to me.’

‘I hate mysteries.’ She said and inhaled deeply. Her chest rose and brushed slightly against his, as he was almost laying on top of her. Her movement made him try his best to hold a groan from escaping. _That woman!_  

‘So do I.’ he said quietly.

‘You want to know… what I’m thinking?’ she asked almost whispering.

‘Yes.’ He breathed.

‘I’m thinking…’ she started. ‘I’m thinking that…’

‘Yeah?’

‘I’m thinking that…’ her eyes travelled all around his face before meeting his. ‘I really want a Nutella jar.’

Oliver felt as if she had taken his heart out, thrown it to the ground and step danced on it. He was _this_ close to, _maybe_ , making her see things from his perspective, how good they were for each other. Yet, here she was. Quickly, changing the topic.

‘I…’ he let out a chuckle and moved to his side again.

Once again, they lay awkwardly next to each other. Then, all of a sudden an idea struck him.

‘Felicity.’

‘Yeah?’

‘Let’s go out and get you a Nutella jar.’

‘What?’ she exclaimed as her eyes widened in shock at his words.

‘C’mon.’ he got up and put his hand in front of himself for her to take. ‘Get dressed, we’re going back in town.’

‘Oliver! It’s 12:30a.m! We have an early meeting tomorrow.’

‘We’ll be back by 2 o’clock.’

She looked stunned.

‘C’mon.’ he said.

He lowered himself and took her arms to pull her up.

‘What’s going on with you?’ she said as she chuckled.

‘I just… I just feel spontaneous.’ He smiled at her and she returned it.

‘Okay. I’ll just get dressed and we’re out.’

She took a sweater and jeans from her luggage and went to change in the bathroom. Oliver put on a woolen cardigan and jeans, making sure he was fast so that she wouldn’t walk in on him. Not that he minded being naked with her… _Stop it!_ He sat in the arm chair and took his phone out to call a cab. Just as he had finished the conversation, she came out of the bathroom and smiled up at him. He helped her put on her coat, taking his time, breathing in her perfume, lingering on her shoulders. When her muscles tensed under his fingers, he cleared his throat and let her go. He quickly put on his own coat and together they walked out of the room. Oliver locked it and headed for the elevator followed by her. Just as the doors opened, Oliver had to wince at the sight of Ray Palmer and Isabel Rochev standing on both sides of the elevator. _Boy, this was awkward._ The four of them stood there looking at each other, before Felicity walked in the elevator and Oliver followed.

‘Good evening.’ She politely said and turned to Palmer. ‘How are you?’

‘I’m okay.’ He said stiffly. ‘Where were you, guys, all night?’

 _That’s none of your goddamn business_ , Oliver wanted to remark but bit his tongue.

‘We decided to go the museum and eat out.’ Felicity answered.

‘Oh. How was it?’ Ray turned to face her.

‘It was… nice. And how was the business party?’

‘It was great. It just finished actually.’ Isabel answered before Ray.

Oliver stiffened in his place, as he felt her arm glide low on his back, stopping at his ass and squeezing. He couldn’t help the hiss.

‘You okay?’ Felicity turned to look at him, the worry in her face visible.

Oliver saw Ray rolling his eyes, and felt a ray of joy and amusement at that. _Eat shit, Palmer_! Then he remembered Isabel’s nasty hand on his butt, and reached to grab her wrist tightly behind his back, so that Felicity wouldn’t see.

‘Me? Yeah.’

‘Felicity,’ Palmer spoke again. ‘I was thinking about those things we discussed last time about the electricity bills in Starling.’

Oliver really wanted to hear what Ray was going to say to Felicity, but at the same time he was busy gripping Isabel’s hand. He hadn’t realized how tight he had squeezed her, until she let out a pained cry and pulled her hand out. Oliver quickly put his hands in his pocket, just as Ray and Felicity turned to look at the brunette.

‘Are you alright, miss Rochev?’ Felicity asked.

Oliver looked at her and saw Ray’s hand on her shoulder. He tried really hard to hold back a growl.

‘I’m… fine.’ Isabel said and lean on the wall, distancing herself from Oliver.

When they reached her floor she went out wishing them a good night quickly and sneaked out of the elevator. As they reached the lobby, Oliver and Felicity headed for the hotel doors, when Ray stopped them.

‘So, where are you going now?’

‘We’re going to some shop. I really craved some chocolate.’

‘You know, I have some in my room.’

Oliver turned his back on them and rolled his eyes, heading to the exit. _Damn, it was cold outside!_ … He really didn’t want to spend another second in Ray’s or Isabel’s presence. The only person he wanted to be with right now was Felicity. The only person whose presence actually made him feel happy and light was Felicity. _Felicity!_ He didn’t know what was going on with him, why he was so affected by her, why just looking at her calmed him down and filled his heart with joy… He shook his head to clear his head.

‘Are we going?’ he heard her voice behind him.

He turned around to face her and smiled. _God, she was so beautiful._ Her cheeks and nose red already, her curls holding little snowflakes, her eyes looking bluer in the moonlight. She approached him and slipped her hand in the crook of his arm.

The cab drove them to the closest shop. They ended up buying a Nutella jar, two sandwiches and two Cokes, since they realized they were hungry again. They calculated it would take them around 40 minutes to go back on foot, so they decided to walk.

The road was snowy and slippery and the weather was cold, but they held onto each other, keeping themselves steady and warm. They got deeper into the mountain and further from the town, surrounded by woods. Felicity stopped all of a sudden and turned around to face the small town that was now behind them. Oliver followed her lead and looked back too.

‘Check it out!’ she exclaimed.

‘Wow,’ he breathed. ‘You can see the whole town from up here.’

‘This is amazing!’

Oliver looked around them but all he saw was the dark forest, trees throwing shadows on the ground. He realized that this didn’t scare him at all, no, quite the opposite. It was a beautiful white wonderland.

‘OLIVER!’ he heard her shouting right next to him. ‘OH MY GOD! OLIVER! LOOK, LOOK!’

He followed her finger pointed at the sky above, when his breath caught and he was speechless. _Aurora!_

Bright lights were dancing around each other creating a colorful and magical vision. Shades of green, pink, red, yellow, blue and violet were tangled up with each other creating soft waves in the night skies, as if they were long lost lovers, hugging, holding each other tight. Aurora lights had lit up the night sky, moving fast around each other. Those mesmerizing skies were glowing above the town and the place looked magical, almost as if it was out of a fairytale.

Oliver was stunned. His jaw had dropped and his eyes were wide trying to capture the whole landscape in front of him.

‘Oh my God!’

He finally turned around and saw the expression on Felicity’s face. She was smiling widely and he could see her eyes were wetter, as she was shaking her head still unwilling to believe what they were experiencing.

‘It’s so beautiful!’ she breathed.

‘Yes, it is.’ He answered, not taking his eyes off her.

This was an experience of a lifetime. He knew it. He knew he had to spend every possible second looking at this miracle in the sky. He just couldn’t. Because he just couldn’t stop staring at the miracle in _his_ life, the one who lit up _his_ days, _his_ own personal Aurora, named Felicity Smoak.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things happen. You're going to like some of them, but you're going to hate the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone! I am so sorry for the late update, I was away on a holliday and couldn't write! Anyway, here's chapter 9!   
> Thank you for your patience, I love you!  
> Happy reading!

The first half of the next day, Oliver and Felicity spent at a business meeting, stealing glances at each other. Oliver didn’t really listen, knowing that she’d remember everything and she would share her ideas with him. He looked at her concentrated face, as she was taking notes and narrowing her eyes at the man who was currently speaking. Then her gaze turned to him and a confused smile appeared on her face. _‘What?’_ Oliver read her lips and just shrugged his shoulders. ‘ _Nothing_.’ He muttered back at her. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously and then just shook her head with a grin on her face.

A couple of hours later, the meeting was finally over. Oliver got up and walked to Felicity.

‘Hungry?’ he asked.

She lifted her head and Oliver could see a spark in her eyes and a wide smirk on her face.

‘Oh, no… Not that look.’ He said.

‘What look?’ she asked.

‘The one that says you’re up to no good.’

‘Oh…’ she took his arm and pulled him to the door. ‘I’m actually up to A LOT of good. I have a couple of amazing ideas about Unidac.’ And with that she led him back to their room.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

A couple of days later they were back in Starling with great plans that they were going to put into action.

Oliver and Felicity were inseparable, spending every possible moment together discussing and working towards the realization of their plan. It was innovative and new and Oliver thought they really had a shot at making Unidac rise again. They had called the board to host a presentation about their ideas and had made an appointment for the following Monday.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

It was 10:40 p.m. on a Sunday night and they were talking business. They were in her apartment, Oliver comfortably lying on her couch looking through their notes, while she was on the ground preparing the Power Point presentation.

‘Felicity, I don’t think I can do this.’ He said.

‘Yes, you can!’ she opposed him.

‘Why don’t you just speak the whole time? I’m not really good at talking.’ He said as he glided his fingers through his short hair.

‘Oliver, look…’ she moved the computer from her lap and sat on the couch next to him. ‘I know this is tough for you, and I know it’s hard and I know we might not succeed in finding a better investor… Hell, our proposal might not even be accepted.’

Oliver furrowed his brows. She was not doing a good job to make him feel calmer so far.

‘But I do know two things.’ She said and looked into his eyes. ‘You are not alone. And I believe in you.’ She paused before she spoke again. ‘We’re in this together and I will be next to you the whole time…’

He was sure the adoration and appreciation he felt for her were written on his face, but he didn’t bother to hide them. Because, he’d come to understand that her support and belief in him was all the motivation he really needed.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

Oliver woke up at 8:30 the next day and headed straight to the bathroom. Usually he would spend a couple of minutes to just lay in bed, wondering if he really needed to go to work, or pity himself for having to wake up so early every morning. Today was different. Today he had to be perfect, he had to be on time and prepared. Oliver wanted to win this project, he didn’t want to disappoint Felicity. She had put so much trust in him and he didn’t want to let her down. He decided to have breakfast with his family. Thea and his mother were arguing about something as usual, and Slade was teasing Oliver about various topics.

By 11, Oliver was fully-dressed, he had read all his notes again and when Diggle arrived to pick him up, he was more than ready. They stopped by Smoak Industries to pick Felicity and Jerry up.

‘So, where’s your assistant?’ Jerry asked when he and Felicity settled on the backseat.

‘She doesn’t know anything about this meeting.’ Oliver answered.

‘You haven’t told her?!’

‘Yeah, well, she’s been… _rebellious_ these days.’

‘What does that mean?’ Jerry wondered again and Oliver rolled his eyes at the current interrogation.

‘That means- she hasn’t been doing what was expected of her.’

‘What was expected of her?’

‘Oh my God, Jerry, please…’ Felicity said as she rubbed her temples. ‘Shut up.’

Oliver bit his lips to hold back a laughter and looked at Diggle who grinned back at him.

‘Hey, Jerry…’ Oliver started teasingly. ‘How could you forget to book a room for Felicity last week? And why did you book a double one for me?’

‘I, um…’ Jerry switched nervously in his seat. ‘I don’t even know.’ He laughed uncomfortably. ‘They must’ve made a mistake… Those idiots.’

‘Mhm…’ Oliver smiled at him.

An hour later they arrived at Unidac Industries and went to the conference room. Slowly, by 1 o’clock, the room was full and Oliver and Felicity stood up to face the board and a couple of potential investors.

While the people were still taking their places, Felicity opened the Power Point presentation and sat down. They had decided that he would start talking first and then they’d switch, so that she could finish it.

Oliver stood up to see the people in front of him and took a deep breath. _He could do this!_ He had to do this! For his father, for his mother… For Felicity… He looked at her and found her already looking at him with a small smile. Her eyes were full with an emotion that Oliver was scared to put a name to. Was it trust? Pride? Fondness? _Or was it something else?_ She gave him a tight nod and turned to the laptop’s screen once again. Oliver inhaled and closed his eyes. 3. 2. 1. He opened his eyes and cleared his throat.

‘Hello.’ He said with a strong and determined voice and smiled. ‘Thank you for your time and for letting us host this meeting… A while ago, Felicity Smoak and I were chosen to rebuild Unidac Industries, to help it rise. It was common knowledge that Unidac was supposed to fall. There was almost nothing that could be done to save it, and yet we came up with a couple of ideas that could lead to a brighter future.’ He looked at Felicity again and she smiled at him again. ‘You see, Miss Smoak wanted to open a science department. With what money, you’re going to ask… This is the main problem of Unidac. It currently has really low finances and that’s why we need all these investors.’

He met Digg’s gaze and saw his friend give him a slight nod and a wink. Jerry, who was standing next to him, grinned widely and gave him a thumbs up.

‘Firstly, Unidac uses research and produces development technology. The CEO before us, I’m not giving names…’ a couple of the board members laughed, while some furrowed. ‘Well, he started producing low-quality products and put a high price. People were not pleased and stopped buying it, which led to the money loss and everything that came with it.’

Felicity pressed a button on the keyboard and the slide switched.

‘We need to improve the quality of those products, which will be possible, thanks to our lovely partner-’ he smiled at Felicity again. ‘Smoak Industries… They have some of the most prestigious workers, which are often mentioned in science and technology magazines- such as Curtis Holt and Cisco Ramon.’ Oliver saw some of the people nod approvingly and sighed in relieve before adding. ‘And I’ve also heard that their CEO is not bad as well.’

Almost everyone laughed at his teasing joke and he smiled, feeling more relaxed. Felicity just grinned at his comment and shook her head.

‘Anyway,’ Oliver continued. ‘I believe with their help we can improve the quality of the things we sell. Again… what money? Well, for starters, Queen Consolidated would gladly invest a small amount of money. Yes, we know, that it can’t give money all the time since Unidac is currently a part of it. That’s why we need other investors.’

Oliver spoke for almost half an hour, checking the board’s reactions and expressions. From what he gathered, it was going very well for now. He slipped a joke, whenever he could, just like Felicity had told him last night. Then he sat on one of the free chairs around the table and Felicity took his place.

‘Well, Mister Queen basically told you all of the solutions. I just came for the food.’ She pointed at the side of the room where they had put the catering. Everyone laughed at her and Oliver couldn’t help the smile from appearing on his face. ‘Anyway, we also need to invest into advertisement. Smoak Industries and Queen Consolidated will do their best to promote Unidac, but that won’t be enough. We need billboards, we need to give interviews, we need to make an advertisement… I already have an idea, and I promise you, it’s better than those lame iPhone commercials with the weird dancing.’

Members of the board laughed again and Oliver just stared at her in awe. _That woman!_ She did everything so effortlessly, so easily… She had a light inside of her that shined so bright, it warmed everyone’s hearts, _including his_. She was so… alive, and mesmerizing, and amazing. As she was talking, she was waving her hands all around the place, she was smiling widely flashing her adorable dimples, her eyes playfully wandering from person to person, her golden curls bouncing on her shoulders with each movement… She was so pretty, and smart, and kind, and funny, and gentle, and lively…

And then it hit him...

_Holy shit!_

_He was in love…_

_Oliver Queen was in love…_

_Oliver Queen was in love with Felicity Smoak._

Oliver felt his eyes widen and his mouth open at the sudden realization. He couldn’t hear a word she was saying, he couldn’t look at anybody else but her. He sighed and just then realized that he’d been holding his breath.

_He was in love with Felicity Smoak…_

All of a sudden, everything made sense.

That’s why after their night together, there hadn’t been another woman to keep his attention. That’s why he felt like shit after their fallout that morning. That’s why he wanted to be friends with her when he met her again after four years apart. That’s why even when he hated her for a year, he didn’t hate her at all. Not even slightly. That’s why when he found out they’d be working together, his heart had skipped a beat. That’s why when he saw her when she was crying, he immediately wanted to be there for her and to wipe her tears. That’s why when he woke up with her in his arms in Alaska, he felt content and happy, thinking he could get used to it…

Because he had been in love with her all along. Maybe he’d been in love with her since the moment he first laid his eyes on her five years ago.

Oliver looked at her again just as she had said something that made everyone laugh again, making him focus on her words.

‘Also, we came up with a different working schedule.’ She said. ‘We thought that maybe if we make the working hours shorter, people would do more of their job…’

Oliver looked around again and loosened his tie. He felt his palms sweating and rubbed them on his pants. His breathing was faster and his heart was beating like crazy and he didn’t know whether he hated that feeling or he loved it.

He looked up at her, at the same moment she looked at him.

‘So,’ she said. ‘Those were out ideas. We believe they are innovative and with your help we know it will have a positive outcome. For Unidac and its’ board, for Queen Cons., for Smoak Ind., for the investors, and most importantly- for the users.’

As she said that she turned off the Power Point and stood nervously. She bit her pink lower lip, causing Oliver to groan quietly.

All of a sudden, there was a loud clapping, which was followed by another, and another, until everyone was on their feet applauding her. Oliver slowly stood up and joined them. She was so beautiful, standing there awkwardly, smiling shyly, not knowing what to do with her hands… And when their eyes met, hers widened. She quickly paced towards him, grabbed him by the hand and dragged him in the middle next to her. Oliver looked at everyone in front of him, clapping, smiling and he felt a rush of happiness. He knew that his father was somewhere, up there, looking down, feeling proud of his son.

And then her fingers were between his and he looked down to see their hands. He shifted his gaze to her face and their eyes met again. He couldn’t help himself, and before he knew it, he had his hands wrapped around her waist pulling her in for a hug, his face buried in her neck, holding her close, not wanting to let her go. Her hands held him by the neck, pulling him down, to her height and Oliver wanted nothing more than to kiss her.

But now was not the moment… He realized that maybe meeting her again was fate’s way of giving him a second chance with her and he didn’t plan on wasting it. He was going to do things right. He was going to ask her out. He was going to give her time to fall for him. And then he was going to kiss her. And then he was going to make sweet love to her. And then he was going to be by her side for as long as she’d have him.

One by one, people walked up to them congratulating them on the ‘incredible presentation’ and ‘spectacular and innovative ideas’. They shook hands and made small talk. Just as Oliver was about to ask her out for tonight, he was interrupted.

‘Felicity, congrats!’

Oliver turned to look at Ray Palmer’s smug face and once again wished he could just punch him.

‘Thank you, Ray. Thanks for coming.’ She said and then he pulled her in for a hug.

Oliver couldn’t look at that anymore so he turned his face in Digg’s direction. John was looking at him already slightly shaking his head. Jerry was looking too, with furrowed eyebrows, and Oliver didn’t know what it meant.

‘Well done to you, too, Oliver.’ Ray said as he was holding Felicity in a tight embrace.

Oliver felt the clenching of his jaw and gave a fake smile and a small nod in the idiot’s face. He felt his nails pressing into his palms, as he had made his hands into fists, with his knuckles turning white. He felt a fire inside of him, one that made his stomach turn, one that made his heart beat faster and faster, one that made him want to push Ray and just drag Felicity away from the other guy.

_He was jealous. Holy shit! …_

_So, that’s what it felt like…_

Oliver had never been jealous before, so this whole thing was so unfamiliar that it made him want to run away and break something.

‘Felicity, I was wondering…’ Palmer started as she pulled away from the hug and Oliver noticed that her cheeks were flushed. _What the hell? Had she enjoyed the hug?_ ‘I was wondering if you wanted to join me to dinner tonight. We can celebrate your victory…’

This was the moment that Oliver felt his heart breaking in his chest. Ray had been faster… Ray had asked her out before him. Oliver wanted to turn around and leave, because he knew he had no chance with her. She and Ray were so alike, how could she chose Oliver over him?

‘What do you say?’ Palmer asked again. ‘I know this new place that has the best cakes in town. There is this one with peanuts on top that-’

‘Felicity’s allergic to peanuts.’ Oliver blurted out before he could stop himself.

He turned to look at Palmer who was looking at him with an annoyed expression and then he met her soft blue eyes and saw the surprise in them. Then she smiled at the other guy and Oliver wanted to throw himself from the roof, because he was sure _that_ would hurt less than hearing her accept Palmer’s invitation.

‘Oh, Ray…’ he heard her talking. ‘That’s so sweet of you. But I kind of already have someone special to celebrate with.’ 

At first Oliver smiled, because she had just declined Palmer’s offer and he looked like an even bigger idiot, but then realized that she would be going out with someone else tonight. _Someone special_. His heart clenched all over again, because he really was late. Maybe she got back together with that cheating ex-boyfriend of hers. Maybe she found someone new last week, Oliver didn’t know. He let out a humorless chuckle at the realization that he was like a girl on her period, feeling all kinds of emotions.

‘Oh…’ Palmer said. ‘Well, it’s okay. Another time then. Have a great time tonight, and congratulations again.’

And with that he walked away. Oliver and Felicity spent a couple more minutes talking to some interested investors, arranging meetings with them before the room was finally empty.

‘That was amazing! You did so well, Oliver!’ she finally said and smiled at him.

‘No, it was successful because of you, Felicity. I’m maybe 1% of the reason. 99% rests in you.’ He said and put his hands into his pockets, as he followed her to the catering.

‘You’re wrong!’ she said as she put a small éclair in her mouth.

‘Well, then, I guess we both did it.’

‘Mhm.’ She said as she was chewing with her eyes closed.

Who was she going out tonight? Curiosity and jealousy, mixed together, were rushing through his veins and he just couldn’t stop himself.

‘So…’ he started. ‘Where are you celebrating tonight?’

‘Mm…’ she said as she swallowed finally. Oliver watched her bite go down her throat and he wished he could lean down and place a kiss on her neck. ‘That’s what I was going to ask you. Where do you want us to go?’

_Wait, what?_

‘What?’ he asked dumbly. _Smooth, Queen._

‘Where are we celebrating?’ she asked again raising her eyebrows.

‘I…’ he didn’t know what was going on. ‘I thought you were celebrating with someone.’

‘Yeah. With you.’ She said and nodded at him. ‘Unless, you have different plans. You don’t, do you? Oh my God, I’m so stupid for assuming that you’d be free or even that you’d want to celebrate with me… Oh, God! Can we just forget that-’

‘Hey, Felicity, breathe…’ he took her hands in his. ‘Of course I want to celebrate with you. I was actually going to invite you to dinner tonight, before Palmer came.’

‘Oh.’ She said and blinked.

‘Yeah.’ He smiled softly at her.

‘Why didn’t you? After he left, I mean.’

‘Well,’ he started. ‘You said you were celebrating with someone special and I just… I don’t know.’

‘Oliver, you are special to me.’ She squeezed his hands. ‘You’re a good friend, you’re my business partner. Who else would I want to celebrate this victory with?’

He just smiled at her.

‘I was going to ask you if you liked Italian.’ He said.

‘I love Italian.’

‘Great. I’ll pick you up at 7:30.’ He told her and she nodded with a huge smile on her face.

 

When Oliver got home, he hopped in the shower and washed himself quickly. He got out and asked Raisa to prepare his favorite suit. Just as he was getting dressed Thea walked in his room with a happy look on her face.

‘Okay, what is going on?’ she asked.

‘What do you mean?’

‘That’s your favorite suit!’ she pointed out. ‘You only wear it when something big is about to happen!’

‘Thea, I-’

‘Oh, please. Spare me the lies.’ His younger sister said and sat on his bed.

Oliver did his last button and stared at Thea through the mirror. She had grown up so much! She had turned into this lovely young woman and once again he felt proud of her. He chuckled and shook his head.

‘So…?’ she asked impatiently again.

‘I… I have a date.’ He said as he leaned on the wall.

‘Who with?’ Thea asked and Oliver saw that her eyes were glowing with joy.

‘Um…’ he was wondering whether she should tell her or not. In the end, he went with his instincts and just spilled it. ‘Felicity.’

Before he knew it, Thea was squealing and jumping up and down hugging him tightly. He couldn’t help but laugh at her reaction, because he felt the same way.

‘Oh my God, Oh my God! I am so happy for you!’ She said and let go of him. ‘You’re wearing the lucky suit. It must mean a lot to you.’

Oliver slowly nodded and smiled. ‘Yeah.’

‘How did it happen?’

‘You know we won a project today.’ He said and Thea nodded. ‘I wanted to ask her out to celebrate but she asked me first.’

‘Oh wow!’ Thea said and hugged him again. When she finally let go of him, she took his tie and decided to help him with it. ‘So… you like her a lot?’

‘Yes, I do.’ He smiled lovingly. ‘Very much.’

‘What happened with all the fighting and hating each other?’ Thea poked him in the rib teasingly and laughed.

‘I guess, underneath it all, I never really hated her.’

‘Why were you rude to each other in the first place?’ Thea asked and crossed her arms.

‘It’s a long story.’ He chuckled. ‘But I actually met Felicity five years ago and, well… Things happened and we had a huge fallout. And when I saw her again last year, she was still pissed at me.’

‘Wait… Did you two… hook up?’ Thea said and raised her eyebrows.

‘I…’ Oliver said and rubbed his palms together. ‘You’re too young to use that phrase.’

‘Oh my God! You did!’

‘Thea… Please.’

‘Alright, alright… And you’ve liked her all this time?’ his sister asked surprised.

‘I-I don’t know. There’s just something about her and I just can’t…’ he shook his head.

‘Ollie, I think you’re in love.’ Thea said and smiled brightly.

‘Okay, you know what?’ Oliver chuckled. ‘I’ve told you too much already. I don’t ask anything about you and Roy, so…’

‘What do you want to know?’ she asked and wiggled her eyebrows.

‘Dear God… Nothing… I don’t want to know anything!’ He said and chuckled.

At 7 o’clock, Oliver left the house and got into his Bentley. He decided to give Digg some time for his family tonight. He was in front of her apartment 7 minutes earlier and slowly got out of his car. He decided to take the stairs instead of the elevator to kill time and at 7:31 he knocked on her door. When she opened, Oliver couldn’t help the gasp that came out of him. She was wearing a long red gown with a slit on her right leg. Her hair was curled and pinned to the side and her lipstick matched the color of her dress. She was definitely wearing high heels because she looked taller than usual. She was smiling at him, _and Good Lord_ , she had no idea what she was doing to him.

‘Hey!’ she said and her dimples moved slightly. ‘I hope I’m properly dressed. I didn’t know where you were taking me and I didn’t know what to put on, and then I decided to put this dress on, anyway. But now I see you’re also wearing a suit, and I guess I’m not overdressed. I really like your suit, it makes your body look perfect. I mean, not perfect, because there isn’t anything perfect, but you know, close to perfect…’

He laughed. _That woman!_

‘You’re dressed just for the occasion, Felicity.’ He said and took her arm in the crook of his.

As they were walking to his car, he stopped and looked her deep in the eyes. He knew that he had very expressive eyes, so he was hoping she would see everything he felt for her in them.

‘You look beautiful, Felicity!’ he said and saw the intensity in her blue orbs. ‘Like always.’

‘You look beautiful, too.’ She said and furrowed her eyebrows. ‘Handsome! I meant handsome! You look handsome! Goodness, what is wrong with me?’

‘You’re just your-babbling-self, nothing’s wrong.’ He chuckled.

‘Shut up!’ she slapped his hand slightly and laughed with him too.

Half an hour later, they reached the restaurant and Oliver opened the door for her. They walked in and sat at one of the tables across each other. The waiter came and took their order and left them alone.

Oliver loved how easily they fell into a conversation. Every time she was talking or laughing he couldn’t stop himself from thinking how right it felt. They talked about their parents, Thea, school, fears, goals, dreams…

When they were both done, they had a little argument because Felicity wouldn’t let him pay the bill. After a 4-minute debate, she finally gave in, with the promise of paying next time. Oliver couldn’t help the smile from creeping on his face at her implication of a ‘next date’.

When they got out they headed for his car, which he had decided to park a few blocks away. He looked at her and saw her crossing her arms and rubbing her body.

‘You cold?’ he asked.

‘Oh, no.’ she spoke. ‘I’m fine.’

‘No, you’re not.’ He smiled. ‘You have goose bumps.’

He took off the jacket of his suit and put it on her shoulders, keeping it in place with his hands.

‘Oh, Oliver.’ She smiled up at him. ‘You don’t have to. It’s all my fault, I should’ve thought about it!’

‘Hey…’

‘You shouldn’t be cold because of me!’

He chuckled. ‘I don’t get cold.’

‘You looked kind of cold in Alaska, though.’ She teased him as she put her hands on her shoulders, over his.

‘It was Alaska, Felicity!’ he protested. ‘It’s the only place you’re allowed to be cold.’

‘Oh, there are colder places around the world.’

‘Yeah?’

‘Yeah. In Siberia and other parts of Russia. There are colder places in Norway, too. Also, Canada…’

‘You’re such a smartass.’ He gripped her shoulders tighter as she giggled throwing her head back.

‘You got a problem with that?’ she looked at him questioningly, raising her eyebrow.

‘No, ma’am.’ He answered in a serious tone.

When they were finally by his car, he reached to open the door for her as she got in.

‘My, my. Chivalry is not dead, I see.’ She joked. ‘My knight in shining armor.’

‘Well, depends on the girl, milady.’ He said and winked at her, causing her to laugh again.

He started the car and headed straight to her apartment. The ride back was quieter but not awkward at all. As he was driving, he stole a couple of glances in her direction and found her looking out the window with a small smile on her face.

It was 11:47 when he finally arrived in front of her apartment. He got out the car at the same time as her. He walked her to the front door and she stopped.

‘What’s wrong?’ he asked, burrowing his eyebrows.

‘You don’t have to go all the way up. I’ll be fine.’ She said and quickly glanced inside the building.

‘I see.’ He said knowingly. ‘You don’t want to be seen sneaking into your place with Oliver Queen.’

‘No, it’s not that!’ she quickly said. ‘Hey, I swear, it’s not. I just want to spare you walking 10 floors up and then down.’

‘That’s funny.’ He let out a nervous chuckle. ‘Because I’m willing to walk a thousand miles and more, if I know you’ll be waiting for me on the other side.’

He had just laid his cards on the table and there was no return from here. He saw her blinking rapidly, before her eyes widened, finally understanding the meaning behind his words. Her mouth parted and her tongue darted out to wet her lower lip as her gaze fell to his. Oliver felt himself leaning forward, closer to her, slowly removing the distance between them. He felt her breath hitch, and then she let out a loud exhale. He looked at her eyes, just as they closed and suddenly, the blood was pounding in his ears and he knew his heart was pulsing with anticipation. He had wanted this for longer than he’d admit and he was finally going to do it.

He put his hand on her waist and soon his nose was brushing against hers. He closed his eyes waiting for a reaction, waiting for something, hoping she wouldn’t pull away. He was breathing heavily, but so was she, which meant that she was just as affected by the situation as him. Her heaving chest brushing against his, her rough breathing matching his, and the fact that she was still in his embrace, gave him enough courage to continue.

Slowly, he lowered himself even more, and after what seemed like an eternity, his lips finally pressed fully into hers. Oliver felt her still and for a moment he panicked, that she wouldn’t return the kiss. He felt a slight pounding in his temples, at the same time his stomach clenched.

Just when he was considering to pull away, her mouth opened slightly, and she placed a small kiss to his upper lip. Her arms hesitantly found his neck- one hand grabbing his shoulder, while the other glided in hair.

And that was really all he needed…

His grip on her tightened, while his free hand tangled in her hair, tilting her head slightly to the side, so that he had better access. A moan escaped her lips and got lost in his mouth. He gently pulled her lower lip with his teeth at the same time her nails scratched his head. He groaned and pushed her to the wall, pressing himself into her. She gasped at the sudden movement and her mouth fell open. Oliver took full advantage of that and slid his tongue inside of her mouth, meeting hers. The small sounds she let out, instantly made the blood in his body travel south and he knew that she was definitely feeling him against her belly.

Soon, her tongue was just as bold as his, exploring _his_ mouth, licking _his_ lips. One of her hands had slipped around him, pulling him closer by the waist, rubbing herself into him, making him groan. He slightly rocked his hips against her, causing her to moan, _and Dear God, he was a goner._

He had never had a better kiss in his life. It was such a new experience, yet so familiar. Oh, yes. The body had memory… Because he knew just where to bite, he knew how to kiss her, the same way she knew how to press against him, and how to tangle her tongue with hers.

A long time later, they both pulled away breathing heavily, trying to get in as much oxygen as they could after the lack of it. Oliver smiled at himself and opened his eyes to look at her.

The happiness he was feeling was gone as soon as it had come. Because he was staring at her- eyes shut, a wrinkle between her eyebrows, with pursed lips, confusion and guilt written on her face.

_No, no, no…_

_She wouldn’t…_

_She couldn’t…_

When she finally opened her eyes, they were slightly wetter, and full of regret.

‘Oliver, I…’

‘No.’ he interrupted her. ‘No, Felicity… Don’t. Please.’

‘I’m so sorry.’

‘I-I know you’re scared…’ he continued, shaking his head. ‘I am too. And I know it’s sudden but…’

‘Oliver…’

‘Don’t do this, Felicity.’ He begged. ‘Don’t regret this. Don’t regret _me_!’

A single tear escaped her eye and she quickly wiped it and cleared her throat.

‘I’m sorry, Oliver. This was a mistake…’

And with that she turned around and walked in the building, leaving Oliver all alone with his misery and anger…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver gets friendly advice + some other stuff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, loves!  
> Last chapter's response blew me away and I want to thank you for your support and patience. I also want to apologise for the angst last time, but even in the real world, there are no easy realationships, right? :D  
> The lovely poster is made by Victoria! You can see it in tumblr!  
> This isn't beta-d, so all mistakes are mine!  
> Happy reading! ^_^

 

Oliver didn’t even know, but somehow he ended up in Verdant, drinking the rest of the night away with Tommy. One whiskey, two, and then three… At some point he lost count and just placed his head on the bar.

‘Look, man… Just give her some time, she’ll come around eventually.’ Tommy said as he emptied his glass.

‘Eventually?’ Oliver repeated slowly. ‘When is that, Tommy?’

His friend just looked him deep in the eyes with an understanding look.

‘You’re gonna have to wait to find out.’

Oliver let out a humorless chuckle and sat up. He was feeling dizzy and everything around him was blurry at this point. Before he knew it, he had taken the glass in his hand and had smashed it into the bar.

‘Hey, hey, hey…’ Tommy quickly got up and pulled him away as Oliver put one of his hands on his waist and glided the other through his face. ‘Calm down, don’t break anything.’

‘The club is mine, man, I can do whatever the hell I want.’ Oliver argued.

‘I’m pretty sure the club is _ours_ , and as a fellow owner, I don’t want any broken glasses.’ Tommy corrected and Oliver hissed.

‘Whatever.’ He said.

‘I think it’s high time I took you home.’ Tommy grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him to the exit.

Oliver tried pulling away, but Tommy didn’t let him.

‘Thank God, you’re drunk.’ He laughed. ‘If you weren’t, you’d probably slip away easily.’

Tommy got Oliver to sit in the passenger seat in the Bentley and put his seatbelt on.

‘What the fuck is that for?’ Oliver argued and tried to take it off.

‘Hey, hey, stop.’ Tommy grabbed his hands and pulled them. He quickly went round the car and got in the driver’s seat, only to find that Oliver had taken the seatbelt off. ‘Damn you, Oliver! Put it on!’

‘Why?’ Oliver tilted his head back and swallowed hard. ‘Just crash somewhere and let me die.’

‘Oh, don’t be such a drama queen, Queen… Don’t be a drama QUEEN… You’re Oliver Queen… Get it?’ Tommy tried to cheer up his friend, but when Oliver just looked at him, his eyes full of pain and guilt, Tommy stopped laughing and started the car.

The drive back to Oliver’s place was long and silent. Tommy stole a couple of glances in his direction. Sometimes, he was looking out the window, other times his head was tilted up with closed eyes, sometimes he was staring ahead with a blank expression. Tommy hated seeing his friend like this.

‘Okay, look…’ he started. ‘You were a dick to Laurel, remember that?’

‘Yes, I do… You’re not doing a good job in making me feel better.’

‘I’ve told you before, but I’ve been in love with her for so long, maybe before you even got together’ Tommy smiled as he was reminiscing. ‘When you, guys, finally broke up and I thought that this was my chance.’

Oliver looked up at Tommy.

‘But she was so upset, that’s she’d run away every damn time I tried to do something. She found out you had cheated more than once, on top of that with Sara… She was hurting.’

Tommy stopped at a red light and turned to face Oliver.

‘For 7 months, I asked her out and she always said no. But I didn’t give up, I loved her too much to do that. Finally, one day she said yes. We went out a couple of times and soon we were dating. On our 3-month anniversary she broke up with me. Do you remember?’

‘Yes.’ Oliver simply said as Tommy started driving again when the light was green.

‘I got so drunk, just like you are now.’ Tommy smiled at his friend. ‘I spent one week pitying myself, and then all of a sudden, one day, she came to my apartment and apologized. She said she was sorry, that she loved me, but she had been scared.’

‘Tommy,’ Oliver interrupted him and rolled his eyes. ‘Not to be rude, but I don’t want to listen about how Laurel got back to you, while Felicity just told me I was a mistake…’

Tommy huffed in annoyance before answering.

‘Just let me finish.’ He said. ‘Laurel explained to me how because of past experiences she had been scared to lay her heart out. She had been cheated on, and lied to, I mean, I understand her. She said that she’d loved me for a long, long time, and even though she broke up with me, she didn’t stop loving me. And then we had make-up sex.’

‘Gosh, Tommy, I don’t want to listen.’ Oliver grimaced in disgust.

‘Okay, okay.’ Tommy said and chuckled. ‘My point is, Felicity is just like Laurel in that matter. Her ex cheated, her father left, she’s scared to lose more people.’

‘She’s pushing me away, Tommy. Isn’t that the same as losing me?’ Oliver asked angrily.

‘No, you don’t understand…’ Tommy shook his head. ‘She doesn’t think she really has you.’

‘What does that mean?’

‘She doesn’t know how much you love her. Hell, even _I_ found out about it just recently. Maybe she thinks you’re trying to get her in bed. You gotta show her she’s wrong and that you’re hers completely.’

Oliver looked out the window again... He was hers. He had always been hers. He loved her. _How could she not see it?_ His head hurt, and so did his heart. He just wanted to sleep, and sleep, and sleep and then wake up by the sound of her voice, telling him she loved him. He had woken up by her side 3 times in his life, and he knew he wanted to wake up to her, every day from now on.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

The next morning, Oliver got up quickly, ignoring the pounding headache and got ready for work. Going to work on Tuesday was hard. Going to work on Tuesday with a headache was harder. Going to work on Tuesday with a headache, knowing that Felicity Smoak had pushed him away was the hardest. He didn’t wait for his family, knowing that they’d ask questions, especially Thea. He didn’t call John, and went straight to his office in Queen Consolidated. He walked in only to find Becky sitting on his desk wearing a short skirt and a see-through blouse.

‘Morning, Mister Queen.’ She said with a sly smile and crossed her legs.

Oliver wanted to roll his eyes at her poor attempt to get it on with him. First she’s cold, rude and disobeying his orders, and now she wanted to have sex with him? … This woman in front of him couldn’t step on Felicity Smoak’s little finger, and Oliver was having a hard time trying not to compare them.

‘Good morning, Rebecca.’ He said coolly and moved to sit on his chair.

‘Oh, you seem tense.’ She said, as she hopped down and moved behind him to massage him.

Oliver tensed even more under her touch, so he grabbed her by the hands and turned around to face her.

‘Don’t you have something to do?’ he raised an eyebrow in question.

‘The only thing I have to do right now is help you relax.’ She said and leaned down for a kiss.

Luckily for Oliver, the phone rang. Becky straightened up and put it on speaker.

‘Oliver Queen’s office, how can I help you?’ she said, with a slight annoyance in her voice.

‘Hello, this is Jerry Conway, Felicity Smoak’s assistant.’ The voice said and Oliver saw Becky rolling her eyes. ‘I’m calling to speak to Mister Queen.’

The woman looked at Oliver, and he cleared his throat.

‘Jerry. What is it?’

‘Hello, Mr. Queen. I’m just calling to ask whether you’d be stopping by Unidac later.’

‘Of course, I am.’ Oliver said determined. ‘We need to put the project in work.’

‘Oh, okay, then I’ll see you later.’ Jerry said.

‘Okay.’ Oliver answered.

‘Oh, by the way…’ Jerry started all of a sudden. ‘Miss Smoak isn’t coming.’

Oliver’s stomach clenched when he heard her name.

‘Why-Why is that?’ he asked trying to calm his voice down.

‘She has food poisoning, a splitting headache and a pain in her chest area.’

Oliver smiled sadly, because he knew better. She had lied so that she wouldn’t meet him. _So that’s how it was going to be from now on._ They would be avoiding each other… Oliver wanted to get up and punch something.

‘And…’ he started. ‘When is she coming back to work? Did she say anything?’

‘Yes, actually.’ Jerry coughed. ‘She said that recovering from her illness may take a while and she doesn’t know when she’s coming back.’

In this moment, Oliver felt like crying, because she thought that he was ‘an illness’ to her. He was something that gave her ‘headaches’, and ‘pain in her chest area’. Would she feel better, if she knew he felt the same way, maybe even worse? She had always been his healing. Why was she causing him so much pain now?

‘Alright, then.’ He said and gulped. ‘I’ll see you later.’

‘I’ll call her in 5 minutes. Anything you want to tell her? I can send the message.’ Jerry let out a small laugh.

Oliver closed his eyes. _He wanted to tell her to stop avoiding him. Tell her to come and have a conversation with him. Tell her he was sorry. Tell her he was willing to be friends with her, if that was the only way to see her. Tell her he missed her so much, he couldn’t think straight. Tell her he loved her so badly, it hurt..._

‘No, nothing.’ He finally said.

‘Okie-dokie. See you later, Mister Queen.’ Jerry said and hung up.

The second the call was over, Becky’s arms were wrapped around his neck, as she straddled him. She reached down for his lips, but he was faster and managed to get up quickly, taking a few steps away from her.

‘What the hell are you doing?’ he asked furiously.

‘What the hell _am I_ doing?’ the redhead raised her voice. ‘What the hell _are you_ doing?’

‘I want you to leave my office and go to your desk.’ Oliver said with determination. ‘You and I might have had a couple of… encounters… but we’re done.’

Becky got closer and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She looked him up and down with narrowed eyes and a fierce look.

‘It’s because of Smoak, isn’t it?’ she said knowingly.

‘Excuse me?’ he asked.

‘Oh, don’t fucking play these games with me.’ She said. ‘Her idiotic assistant may be clueless, but I’m not.’

Oliver didn’t know how to react. He could tell her she was wrong and kick her out of the room _. Or he could just fire her and not bother with her bullshit any longer_.

‘I’m a woman, I know when I’m being replaced… Also, I have eyes, Oliver! I’ve seen you two together. You have feelings for her.’

‘Shut up.’

‘Don’t tell me to shut up! You’ve been pushing me away because you want her!’

‘You know, in order for ‘her to replace you’, you need to have a place somewhere.’ He shouted.

Becky’s eyes widened and were soon filled with tears. He had crossed a major line. Because what woman wanted to be told she didn’t mean anything to the man of her affections? _Even if it was true_ …

‘Becky, I…’ he started.

‘Save it!’ she said and walked to the door.

‘Hey…’ he grabbed her hand. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap like that.’

Now she was really crying.

‘I… I had a horrible night last night and I’m still not over it.’ He tried to explain. She stood silent for a while.

‘I quit.’ She said quietly.

He had to talk her out of it. He had to tell her she was the best secretary he’d ever had… He didn’t.

‘Okay.’

She looked up to face him, her eyes red and her mascara running down her cheeks.

‘Just so you know, you’ll never be good enough for her.’ She said and grabbed the door handle. ‘She’s always kind, and she’s always smiling and all you do is hurt the people around you.’

Oliver stood silent, processing her words.

‘Call me evil, or vindictive,’ she continued. ‘But I hope she hurts you _really_ badly.’

And with those words she walked out, closing the door behind her. Oliver watched from the glass wall as she quickly gathered her things and left.

He slowly walked to his couch and collapsed on it.

Becky was right. He would never be good enough for Felicity… She was probably the smartest woman that has ever walked the Earth, she had graduated MIT, she had made her name on her own, and she was always a ray of sunshine and goodness… And he was a broody idiot that got kicked out of four schools and had inherited his company. She was everything he was not… And still, she was everything he ever wanted.

Because with her, he felt like he could do anything. With her, he felt worthy. With her, he felt like a better person. If today was any indication, the moment he’s away from her, he snaps at people and goes back to his mean and miserable self. And he didn’t want to be like this anymore.

‘Oliver?’ he heard John’s voice.

‘I’m here.’ Oliver said.

Diggle walked around to face him and sat at the armchair in front of him.

‘So… how’d it go?’ he asked with a sympathetic look on his face.

Oliver just rolled his eyes, because he was sure Digg knew the answer already. ‘It went great! I told her I loved her, she said it back, we kissed, we had sex and now we’re getting married.’ He said sarcastically. ‘How do you think it went?!’

Diggle just shook his head and crossed his arms. ‘That bad?’ he asked.

‘Worse.’ Oliver said and sat up, rubbing his eyes with one hand.

Digg leaned back and just stared at his friend.

‘So…’ Oliver started.

‘So… What?’

‘So… Why didn’t you stop me?’ Oliver asked. Digg was one of the smartest people he knew, and Oliver was sure that John knew this was going to happen.

‘Stop you from doing what?’ John asked back.

‘Stop me from hurting myself. You knew this was going to happen.’

‘Well, you never really told me how you felt, so what was I supposed to say?’

Oliver stood silently and moved his gaze from his friend.

‘I saw it, Oliver, because I know you... I’ve known about your feelings for her for a long time. Last year, you were constantly fighting, but there was always some kind of a flame between the two of you. I was wondering how that was possible, and then you kind of, accidentally, told us that you’d slept together and it all made sense to me.’

Digg smiled and continued.

‘I always caught the angry looks you sent in her direction when she was with Barry Allen or Ray Palmer or any other man, honestly.’ He chuckled. ‘But I also saw the longing in your eyes, when you were just staring at her during meetings, and events.’

‘Okay, okay…’ Oliver finally spoke. ‘You’ve known long before I knew it. What do I do now?’

‘What happened last night?’

‘I… kind of told her how I feel.’ Oliver said.

‘You told her?’ Digg asked suspiciously. ‘With words?’

‘Okay, no… I just kissed her.’ Oliver confessed and John rubbed his eyes with his hand.

‘Oliver, Oliver…’ he sighed. ‘Do you want a relationship with her or do you want to screw her?’

‘I just want her, Digg. In every way I can have her.’

‘But she doesn’t know that! Especially with the past you share. You should’ve waited. You just warmed up things with her. You should’ve given her time to adjust to your friendship first.’

‘She was standing there, looking gorgeous, and she was smiling, and I… couldn’t think straight, Digg.’ Oliver said and lied on the couch again.

‘And what happened then?’

‘Well, she kissed me back and then when we pulled away, she said it was a mistake and left.’

There was a silence for a while, before Oliver spoke again.

‘What should I do?’ he almost whispered, his voice too weak.

‘I think you shouldn’t give up and you shouldn’t lose hope. She’s just scared of how fast it all happened.’

‘What if she doesn’t like me at all?’

‘I don’t think that’s the case.’ Digg smiled at his friend. ‘I might have been looking at _you_ at meetings, but I’ve seen her looking at you, too.’

Oliver turned around, desperation with tint of curiosity, written on his face.

‘I think she likes you just as much as you like her. Just give her time.’

‘What? Do I pull away and avoid her to give her space?’ Oliver burrowed his eyebrows.

‘No,’ Digg shook his head and chuckled.

‘John! Just tell me what I should do!’

‘Look, Oliver,’ Digg started. ‘I wish I had the answer, but I don’t. This thing- no one understands it, except the two of you. You have to do what you think is right for the moment.’

‘I don’t know what’s right, Digg.’ Oliver said feeling more and more frustrated.

‘Think about it. Go home. Shower. Sleep. Just have some time to yourself. I feel like you’re still not in peace with your own feelings. Take the time to realize what you feel and want exactly. And when you’re sure, go and talk to her.’

Oliver stared at his friend, processing his words.

‘Okay.’ He finally said.

‘Need a ride home?’ Diggle asked and smiled.

‘No, take the day off. Thank you, though.’ Oliver said and returned Digg’s gesture.

‘Anything for my brother.’

They stood up and Digg reached to give his friend a hug, knowing that he really needed one.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

After he left work, Oliver got back home and took a shower. He quickly dried his hair and put on jeans and a clear black Henley. He lied on his bed staring at the ceiling.

He knew exactly how he felt. She brought him happiness and joy, and he wasn’t willing to let it slip away. He knew he’d made poor choices in his past and people loved reminding him of them. She was different. She tried to focus on the good in people, even in him. She looked at his achievements, instead of his failures, and congratulated him on them. She believed in him and looked at him as if he was worth it. She made him want to be a better person. She inspired him to keep fighting. She made him wake up and go to bed with a smile, and he didn’t want to stop feeling like this. _He loved her._ He loved her with a passion that had been unfamiliar to him until now. The question was- did she love him back?

‘Fuck!’ he exclaimed and stood up sharply.

It was 8:30 p.m. when he got into his car and started driving. He knew what he had to do. As he was driving in complete silence for a while, he decided to turn on the radio and listen to some music.

_‘… Got me out here in the water so deep,_

_Tell me how you gonna be without me?_

_If you ain’t here I just can’t breathe_

_There’s no air, no air…’_

Oliver changed the station, in order to stop his brain from thinking about the feeling of hollowness that the lyrics were causing in his chest.

_‘… My mind is blind to everything but you,_

_And I wonder if you wonder about me… too…’_

He pressed the button again, letting out a humorless chuckle at the whole irony. It was like he was being chased by his feelings. He pressed it a couple more times until he finally heard a more upbeat song and focused on driving again.

_‘… How much longer will it take to cure this?_

_Just to cure it cause I can’t ignore it if it’s love,_

_Makes me wanna turn around and face me but I don’t know nothing ‘bout love…’_

Oliver groaned. Was the universe playing jokes on him? He switched the station again.

_‘… Tell me I’m wrong, turn around and run,_

_Still I’m gonna save my heart for you._

_I know you want me too, even if it’s not now,_

_I’m gonna wait it out,_

_But don’t you dare forget that moment that we had,_

_I know we both felt it…’_

  
That was the last straw before Oliver turned off the station and pulled the car over. He got out of it and leaned on its’ side, taking a couple of deep breaths. _What the hell was wrong with him?_ He had never felt this way about anyone before… Felicity Smoak was in complete control of his life and his emotions. He didn’t know how it had happened but if she wanted, she could destroy him. Maybe Becky’s ‘curse’ was actually turning into a reality. Because Felicity had hurt him really badly.

He wanted to be angry with her, to turn around and go home, but he just couldn’t. He loved her too much to let her go. And he loved the person he was when she was with him.

He got into the car and started driving to her apartment. He gave a small nod to the doorman and took the elevator to the 10th floor. He paced to her door and knocked.

Nothing.

What if she wasn’t home? What if she was out with a friend talking about him and laughing at his foolishness? Or even worse- what if she was with Palmer? Oliver clenched his jaw and knocked again, not wanting to give up just yet.

A moment later the door opened and Oliver couldn’t hide the surprise. Before him stood a slim woman with long blonde hair and a tight pink dress. She was older than him and it was the first time he’d ever seen her. Oliver wondered who this woman was and what was she doing in Felicity’s apartment.

‘Hello.’ The woman said and grinned at him.

And then Oliver saw it. Her dimples… They were just like Felicity’s. The blonde woman in front of him had the same playful spark in her blue eyes like Felicity. If Oliver guessed correctly, this woman was Felicity’s mother.

‘Hello. I’m… I’m looking for Felicity.’ He answered finally.

‘She’s um…’ the woman bit her lip _, just like Felicity did_ , and turned around towards the apartment. ‘She’s not here. She’s… out.’

Oliver could see through the lie. Felicity was definitely home. She just didn’t want visitors or she didn’t want him specifically. Oliver was just about to talk when he was interrupted.

‘Donna!’

He turned around to face the person who had spoken and saw a man around 24-25 walking towards them. His eyes were red and judging by the way he couldn’t walk a straight line, Oliver guessed he was either really drunk or really high. Or both.

‘Oh, no…’ Oliver heard the woman mutter.

He looked down to look at her and saw her worried expression as she was looking at the other guy, who was slowly approaching.

‘Donna, get your daughter out here.’ He said. _Yep- this was definitely Felicity’s mom_. ‘I wanna talk to her.’ He was close enough and Oliver could smell the scent of alcohol and cigarettes.

‘Cooper…’ the woman started. ‘Just go, please.’

Oliver looked him up and down. So that was the douche that cheated on her a couple of months ago.

‘No, I won’t go! She said she’d call if she changed her mind. It’s been four months, Donna! Four _fucking_ months!’ The man protested, as he slowly raised his voice and Oliver felt the aggression flow through his words.

‘She didn’t call meaning she didn’t change her mind.’ The blonde said with a strong tone, but Oliver heard the way her voice slightly shook.

‘No, no, no! Get her out here, Donna! I gotta speak with her.’ Cooper argued.

‘If you loved her, you wouldn’t have cheated.’ Donna said and stood straight. ‘She’s moved on.’

Donna turned to look at Oliver who was still standing next to Cooper by the door.

‘Fine!’ Cooper said and Oliver saw an angry flash in his eyes. ‘If you’re not getting her out, then I’m getting in!’

Just as he tried to walk into the apartment, while Donna struggled to keep him out, Oliver’s hand shot up and took him by the forearm.

‘She said…’ his grip on Cooper’s arm tightened and he got closer to him. ‘Leave.’

And with that Oliver pushed the other man away and stood in front of him, his back to Donna and the door, keeping Cooper at a distance. The douchebag straightened himself up and looked at Oliver in a mocking way.

‘Oliver Queen!’ he said. ‘Why don’t you keep your rich ass away from things that don’t have anything to do with you?’

‘Leave. Now.’ Oliver said through gritted teeth.

‘Or what?’ the idiot asked and laughed. ‘What are you going to do about it, Queen? You’re calling all your lawyers and bodyguards?’

‘Good. You know my name. You’ve heard about me.’ Oliver said with a formidable tone. ‘That means you probably know what I’m capable of.’

Cooper’s smile wiped away from his face and he just stood there looking at Oliver.

‘You’re fucking her, aren’t you?’ he asked after a minute of silence.

Oliver turned around to look at Felicity’s mom, feeling embarrassed and enraged at the accusation. Donna still had a worried expression on her face. When Cooper shouted all of a sudden, Oliver turned to face him again.

‘Answer the question, you rich dickhead! You’ve been fucking her!’

Oliver saw that this man was either drunk or he was actually mentally unstable. His eyes were narrowed furiously and his mouth had formed an angry grimace.

‘You two have been making a lot of headlines in the past weeks. I should’ve known she’d crawl into _Oliver Queen’s_ feet.’ Cooper continued taking deep breaths in-between words. ‘She let you fuck her, didn’t she? DIDN’T SHE?’

‘Leave. The building.’ Oliver said, feeling the muscles on his back tense with each syllable.

‘Did she let you fuck her in the ass, yet?’ Cooper said angrily. ‘That bitch! How dare she leave me for you?! FELICITY!’ he shouted. ‘FELICITY, YOU BITCH GET OUT! WHAT DO YOU SEE IN HIM? DOES HE FUCK YOU BETTER? DID YOU LEAVE ME FOR SEX? YOU DUMB WHORE-’

Not being able to listen to the dirty accusations coming out of this disgusting man’s mouth, Oliver quickly paced to him and punched him straight in the nose. Cooper fell down, blood running down his face. Oliver lowered himself in front of him and took hold of his shirt, getting ready to hit him again.

‘Shit!’ Cooper cried. ‘You broke my fucking nose!’

‘I don’t give a fuck!’ Oliver said and pulled Cooper up on his feet.

The idiot was about to hit him, but Oliver’s reflexes were much faster and he managed to avoid Cooper’s fist. Instead, he grabbed his shirt again and pushed him into the wall.

‘If you ever come near this building, or Felicity’s workplace, or anywhere near her or her mother…’ he turned to look at Donna’s surprised face. ‘I will personally find you, and you’re gonna wish it was my lawyers and bodyguards you had to deal with. Understood?’

Oliver saw the fear in the douchebag’s eyes and he was sure that his threat had done its’ purpose.

‘Understood?’ he repeated low almost growling.

Cooper gulped and shook his head up and down.

‘Good.’ Oliver said and let go of him. ‘Now. Leave.’

The other man looked like he was about to say something, but then he met Oliver’s angry eyes, and headed for the stairs, almost running down. Oliver was listening to his footsteps, on the floor as he was going down and down. When he could no longer hear him, he turned around to look at Felicity’s mom again. She hadn’t moved from her spot at the door.

‘I’m really sorry about that.’ He slowly walked up to her.

‘No, I’m the one that’s sorry.’ She said and shook her head. ‘I never saw what Felicity liked about him anyway. Sometimes, I think she was dating him only to rebel against me.’

Oliver felt the ends of his lips lift slightly forming a small smile. He liked that woman. She was like an older version of Felicity.

‘So,’ she said again. ‘You’re… Oliver Queen.’

‘Yes, I’m sorry we couldn’t have a proper introduction.’ He said and put his hand on the wall.

‘I’ve heard things about you.’ She said and smiled at him. ‘You’re _Oliver_... You’re… the one.’

_What did that mean?_

‘Look, Oliver,’ the woman started. ‘After what you just did for us… For Felicity… I don’t feel comfortable with lying to you.’

Oliver furrowed his eyebrows in question.

‘Felicity isn’t out, she’s home.’ Donna continued. ‘And trust me, if I could, I would drag her out here, and lock her out until you… talk things through.’ She gave him a small sympathetic smile. ‘But I can’t. She doesn’t want to see anyone and I really can’t do anything about it.’

‘It’s okay.’ Oliver said. ‘Can you tell her something from me?’

‘Anything, dear.’ The blonde woman said.

He looked inside the apartment, knowing she was somewhere there. _His Felicity_ …

He had come here tonight to apologize and to take his actions back. He had come with the intention to tell her that he wanted to be her friend again. All of a sudden, it all changed.

‘Tell her,’ he started staring into the apartment, as if she was there listening to him. ‘Tell her that I’m done denying my feelings. Tell her that I’m going to fight for her.’

He tore his gaze from the picture hanging on one of her walls in the corridor and moved it to Donna. She was looking at him with a loving smile and then she nodded.

‘I will.’ She said.

 Oliver returned her smile and turned to walk away. As he was moving, he felt the tension leave his body, as if he had dropped a major burden. He left and building and headed for his car. Before he got in, he looked one last time at the direction of her apartment’s window and left a heavy sigh. He started the car, and unlike last time, he didn’t turn the radio on…

If he had any doubts this morning, they sure as hell were gone now. He felt it in his bones. Felicity Smoak was _it_ for him. And when he said he’d be fighting for her, he wasn’t lying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love badass Oliver! <3 I've been looking forward to writing this chapter for so long, you have no idea :D  
> Tell me what you thought about it, and if you liked it, give me kudos ^_^  
> Next chapter will be from Felicity's point of view, things will happen! Hopefully, I'll upload it next Friday. Stay tuned. ^_^


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity's POV on things + something interesting *wink*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, friends!  
> I'm gonna start by saying how much I love you all and how much I love the fact that you like this story! You are the best! <3   
> This chapter isn't beta-d, all mistakes are mine! Please excuse me if they're too many. It's 5:33 am here and I'm really tired so... forgive me in advance if something's wrong.  
> Anyway,  
> Happy reading <3

Felicity stood pressed on the corridor wall’s other side with a beating heart and wide eyes, listening to everything that was happening outside her door. She felt the strong thuds in her heart, she was hearing the blood in her veins, and she was trying to fight back the hot tears, burning her eyes, threatening to escape. Her hands were covering her mouth and her chest, because she didn’t trust herself not to make a sound. She was taking deep and quiet breaths from her nose in an attempt to calm down the emotions that were currently overwhelming her.

After what felt like an eternity, she heard the door closing and soon her mother was back in the room with a huge smile and Felicity could swear that she saw small drops of water on the corner of Donna’s eyes.

‘Felicity…’ her mother said and walked up to give her a hug.

Before Donna could reach her, Felicity had taken a few steps away from her.

‘I-I need a moment, mom.’

And with that she quickly ran to the window to take a final look before _he_ left. She moved the curtains slightly to have a better view.

And then she saw _him_.

He was just leaving the building, wearing dark clothes and his dirty blonde hair looked messier than ever, as if it had been run through a million times. She moved the curtains slightly to try to get a better look, but quickly pulled them back and leaned on the side of the wall, because at the same time he turned around and looked up to her window. _Frack!_ She felt her sides blush, hoping he didn’t see her. A couple of seconds passed and when she thought it was safe she tried to take a small glance. She looked out the window, only to find nothing.

He was gone.

She tried to ignore the emptiness in her soul. _God, why was she having a hard time breathing?_

‘Baby?’

Felicity sharply turned around to look at her mother. There was an unreadable expression on her face- a mixture between worry and… _happiness_?

‘You okay, honey?’ her mother slowly came to her.

‘Yeah.’ Felicity lied. ‘I’m fine. I’m great, actually. I’m feeling perfect. Why wouldn’t I be?’

Her mother gave her a knowing look and pursed her lips. Seconds passed, the two of them staring at each other. And then Felicity saw Donna opening her mouth. She knew her mother was going to bring up the events from tonight, but she really, really, _really_ didn’t feel like talking or thinking about it, so she cut her off.

‘What are we having for dinner?’ Felicity asked, quickly, before her mother had a chance to say anything.

Donna’s eyes blinked a couple of times, before she let out a sigh and shook her head.

‘I don’t know. I was going to offer going out to a restaurant.’ She said then.

‘Sounds great!’ Felicity said with a happy tone, and when she saw Donna tilting her head to the side, clearly not buying it.

Donna Smoak might be a cocktail waitress, and she might know nothing about computers, and technology, but she knew a lot about human emotions and relationships. Donna could see through her daughter’s act.

Luckily for Felicity, her mother decided to stay quiet. _For now!_

Felicity quickly paced upstairs to shower. She took extra time, scrubbing her body and washing her hair. When she was done, she put her wet hair in a towel and wrapped another one around her body, and then wiped the foggy mirror and looked at her reflection. Her cheeks, neck and chest were flushed from the steam. All of a sudden, her gaze moved to her lips.

 _Oliver had kissed her._ He was just as good as he had been five years ago. He had kissed her lips and held her body tight to his. She didn’t even know she’d missed it until it had happened last night. How she wanted to do it again…

‘Stop it! You don’t like him like that.’ she said to herself. ‘Oh God… Now I’m talking to myself.’

She got out of the bathroom and picked a cute green dress for dinner with her mother. She went up to the huge mirror next to her bed and held the dress in front of her. She was looking at herself, when suddenly she remembered that green was Oliver’s favorite color. _So, no! Not going out with that._

She went to her wardrobe again and picked a pair of jeans and a plain white t-shirt. She dried her hair and quickly straightened it. She put on a light eye makeup and a deep red color on her lips, and reached for her Victoria’s Secret vanilla orchid perfume. Just as she was about to apply some on her neck, she stopped and frowned.

_‘What’s that perfume of yours?’ Oliver had asked her in Alaska. ‘The one that smells like vanilla… It might be my favorite.’ And he had smiled._

‘Frack!’ Felicity said and shoved the bottle in one of her drawers.

She looked through her other perfumes and chose another light and fresh one. She eyed herself in the mirror and put on red heels that matched her lips. She grabbed a matching handbag and put on a black leather jacket.

She went downstairs and found her mother drinking a glass of wine.

‘Mom!’ she exclaimed and her mother jumped. ‘What are you doing?’

‘Oh, honey.’ Donna quickly put the glass to the side. ‘I need to let loose. I’m under so much pressure.’

‘What pressure?’

‘Well, I witnessed a fight earlier today, okay?! My heart might have stopped.’

Felicity rolled her eyes at her mother. ‘It was a single punch, mom. That wasn’t a fight.’

‘I’m not a violent person, Felicity.’ Her mother said innocently and drank the rest of the glass. ‘Plus, I won’t be driving the car tonight.’

Donna gave her daughter a wink and slapped her ass as she went to take her jacket as well. Felicity sighed and shook her head. _It was going to be a fun night_ …

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Felicity was driving the car to Table Salt in complete silence. Her mother would say a word or two, then she’d shut up and Felicity could see her stealing glances. She knew her mother’s tongue itched her and that she wanted to ask questions and probably was going to push her to talk to Oliver, but Felicity really wasn’t in the mood. She had made a decision last night. There couldn’t be anything between them.

‘Felicity?’ Donna carefully asked.

Felicity closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she quickly opened her eyes, when she remembered she was driving.

‘Yes, mom?’

‘You want to talk about it?’ Donna asked again.

‘Talk about what?’

‘Where do I start?’ Donna moved in her seat so that her whole body was turned to Felicity. ‘You called me late last night, crying, asking me to fly over. So I did. I’ve been here for a whole day, and you haven’t said anything. Earlier today, I tried to ask you what’s wrong, you just shook your head, saying you just missed me.’

Felicity bit her lower lip to hold her tears from falling again.

‘I let it pass.’ Donna continued. ‘Then Oliver breaks Cooper’s nose and I’m speechless and I have so many questions, but you won’t answer any of them.’

Felicity didn’t take her eyes off the road, not knowing what to do or say or-

‘Talk to me, Felicity!’ her mother pleaded with her.

Felicity stood quiet. No, she wasn’t going to talk about it, she wasn’t going to-

‘When Cooper started insulting you earlier,’ Donna continued. ‘Oliver punched him right in the face and chased him away. Then Oliver came to me and told me that he wasn’t going to deny his feelings anymore and that he was going to fight for yo-’

‘I heard what he said, Mom!’

 _Great! Now she was using her loud voice._ Felicity felt extremely embarrassed for shouting at her mother, and decided to break the tension. She pressed a button to turn the radio on.

_‘…Maybe if I tell myself enough, maybe if I do,_

_I’ll get over you, you…’_

As the tears threatened to roll down her cheek, Felicity quickly stopped the radio and instead decided to play the music from her phone. She randomly pressed the last thing she’d listened to and put the phone down.

_‘…Cause when a heart breaks, no, it don’t break even, no._

_What am I supposed to do when the best part of me was always you and_

_What am I supposed to say when I’m all choked up and you’re okay?’_

‘Damn it!’ Felicity cursed and took her phone again. She quickly found a Panic! At The Disco song and started singing loudly with it.

_‘…Yes, but what a shame, what a shame_

_The poor groom’s bride is a whore!_

_I’d chime in with a_

_‘Haven’t you people ever heard of closing the goddamn door?’ NO?_

_It’s much better to face these kinds of things_

_With a sense of poise and rationality! ...’_

Felicity sung loudly for about 15 minutes before arriving at the restaurant. She turned the car off and walked in with her mother by her side. Their orders were taken immediately- _one of the many perks of being a celebrity around here_. The two of them sat across each other in the more quiet part of the restaurant. For a couple of minutes they both initiated small talks but very soon neither was attempting to break the tension, as it was too much. So they sat in silence, stealing glances in each other’s direction. When their food arrived, they started eating quietly. Donna ordered a bottle of red wine and Felicity just winced. Since she was driving, she couldn’t drink. _And boy, did she need a drink._

‘Felicity…’ her mother started all of a sudden.

Felicity’s eyes shot up to meet Donna’s.

‘Honey, whatever is happening, you can tell me. I really don’t want to push you but, baby, you really look like you need to talk.’ Donna’s hand slid on the table and took Felicity’s, before squeezing it. ‘I am not one to judge you. I want you to know that I will always be on your side.’

Felicity took a deep breath. She hated talking about her feeling, thinking that it made her vulnerable. But looking into Donna’s eyes, she realized that her mother was right.

‘I just don’t know- I don’t know where to start…’ she said with a shaky voice.

‘Well, why don’t you tell me why were you upset last night?’ Donna started caressing her daughter’s hand with her thumb.

‘After… _Oliver_ and I won a project yesterday, we decided to go out and celebrate.’ _Should she tell her mother?_ It was extremely uncomfortable for Felicity to talk about men with people, _especially her mother_. ‘After dinner he… he um… he sort of kissed me.’

‘Sort of?’ Donna asked with a small smile. ‘Was he bad?’

‘No!’ Felicity quickly clarified. ‘…He was great actually.’

‘And? What’s the problem? You like him, he likes you, what’s the matter?’ her mother asked.

‘I don’t _like_ him that way.’ Felicity denied. ‘I like him… as a friend.’

‘Oh, honey!’ Donna chuckled. ‘You can’t be just friends with a fine man like him. If I were you, I would’ve climbed him like a-’

‘Mom!’ Felicity exclaimed and grimaced.

‘It’s true, though.’ Donna continued laughing, but stopped when she saw Felicity’s serious expression. ‘Right. And?’

‘Nothing. I told him the kiss was a mistake and I left.’

‘Okay, then. That makes everything simpler. But… If you didn’t have feelings for him, why were you crying, begging me to come?’ Donna asked with a knowing smile, leaving Felicity speechless.

‘I…’ she started, not knowing how to answer.

She didn’t have feelings for Oliver. Yes, every time she saw him there were butterflies tickling the insides of her stomach. Yes, he looked great in a suit. Yes, he was really funny when he was around her. And even though he didn’t show it a lot, he was really smart. And he was very caring towards her and his sister- something that for some reason made her heart melt. _No, she didn’t have feelings for Oliver_ … Then why had she kissed him back? And why did her whole body shake in pain, when she’d gotten home last night, after pushing him away? _Oh, God… What was happening to her?_

‘Look, honey… I don’t want to interfere. I really don’t want you shouting at me again to stop telling you how to live, okay? Because I’m not. I’m just making an observation.’

This woman had raised her, working long hours, had sent her to college and had been the most supportive mother in the world. And Felicity’s heart clenched at the fact that her mother thought she would shout at her. Felicity slowly nodded so that her mother would continue.

‘Here’s what I see- Oliver Queen is an amazing young man that is in love with you. Unlike Cooper, he respects you and cares about you.’

‘How do you know that?’ Felicity let out a small breath. ‘You saw him for like 5 minutes.’

‘Baby, have you seen the boy’s eyes?’ Donna asked while grinning. ‘He’s like an open book- you can read _everything_ in those gorgeous blue eyes.’

Felicity looked down and smiled slightly.

‘And…’ Donna continued. ‘I’m pretty sure you feel the same way about him.’

‘I... Why would you think that?’

‘Honey, every time you spoke about him on the phone, I could hear the adoration in your voice and could actually feel you smiling. You talk about him as if he’s put the stars on the sky.’

Before Felicity could answer, the waiter brought the bill, and she quickly paid him, giving him a generous tip.

‘Felicity, answer honestly- do you like him?’ Donna asked.

‘No, mom, I don’t like Oliver.’

The moment the words escaped her mouth, she felt her insides clench.

‘I don’t know…’ Felicity continued and sighed. ‘Maybe…’

‘Then what’s the problem?’ her mother squeezed her hand again.

‘It’s just…’ Felicity let out e loud exhale. ‘He’s Oliver Queen. You’re not from around here, so you don’t know, but he used to be a spoiled and bratty playboy. The paparazzi love him. He’s in the center of attention all the time.’

‘Felicity, you’re followed by paparazzi, too.’ Donna rolled her eyes.

‘I haven’t been involved in scandals.’ Felicity opposed her mother. ‘He’s had so many women in his life, he’s been to jail a couple of times, and for God’s sake, he was kicked out of 4 schools! He doesn’t have a good past, mom.’

‘Baby, I’m sure he regrets all of it now. He doesn’t want the past, he wants a future… with you. I don’t understand Felicity. You’ve always seen the good in people, why are you acting like this with him?’

‘It’s… it’s hard to explain.’ Felicity bit her lip, thinking of their night all those years ago. ‘I’ve seen some of the bad things he’s done, and the damage he’s caused with my own eyes.’

‘Felicity, we’re human beings. We make mistakes, we screw up… we’re not perfect. What matters is that we find the strength to improve.’ Donna smiled lovingly at Felicity. ‘Instead of focusing on everything he did wrong, pay attention to all the good things he’s done.’

Felicity’s thoughts drifted to the night he’d come to her hotel room and had spent the night, calming her down. How he had caressed her hair, and held her tight. 

‘He’s wonderful, but…’

‘Stop with the ‘buts’, Felicity!’ Donna cut her off. ‘Stop overthinking and being so cautious. It’s only holding you back. I’ve seen photos of the two of you. That boy is in love, and judging by your reaction, I think you are too.’

Felicity could feel the clenching of her heart and the slight trembling of her jaw, as the tears were about to hit the ground.

‘We better go.’ She said finally.

‘Felic-’ her mom started.

‘Please, I… I need to get out of here, mom. I want to be home.’

Donna was looking into her eyes, with a pained expression on her face, waiting for something. Felicity swallowed hard knowing that her mother couldn’t understand. No one could. She had to figure it out on her own. _But how could she?_ How could she even think straight with this horrible ache in her heart, eating her from the inside? How could she with all these unshed tears that were going to spill sooner than later? How could she, when all she could think of was how much she missed him? How could she when the only place she wanted to be in at the moment was in his arms?

‘Okay.’ Donna quietly said and stood up, while putting on her jacket.

The waiter came by to ask if they liked the food and that served as a small distraction for Felicity, giving her time to regain her control. When Felicity and Donna got in the car, Felicity started it and started driving to their home. They drove in silence for 10 minutes, before Donna exhaled loudly and pushed a button to start the music.

‘ _When I touch you like this,_

_And I hold you like that,_

_It’s so hard to believe but it’s all coming back to me…_ ’

And all of a sudden Felicity’s act crumbled in front of her. The hot tears were burning her eyes, and her jaw was shaking, as the growing limp in her throat was making it harder and harder to breathe. All her efforts to keep herself together had gone to waste.

She pulled the car over. The moment the engine stopped working, she started crying. _Loudly_. In any other situation Felicity would feel ashamed of her breakdown, but she was with her mother, and honestly, she just couldn’t keep it in anymore and she didn’t care what she looked or sounded like.

‘Oh, baby!’ Donna said sympathetically and hugged her tightly.

Felicity wrapped her hands around her mother and pulled her closer to her body.

‘Shhh, it’s okay.’ Donna caressed her hair and whispered softly in her ear. ‘It’s going to be fine.’

The tears were coming in waves and Felicity just couldn’t stop them, nor did she want to.

Felicity would never admit how much he had hurt her five years ago. Even thought they had only talked for a couple of hours before slipping into one of the bedrooms, she had wondered whether they would give it a try. And the way he had been looking at her all morning had set her hopes up high, making her like him even more, even though he hadn’t been her type _at all_. And then Laurel had come and Felicity’s heart had broken. When she had listened to him lie to his girlfriend again, the pain had been displaced by anger and disgust. When Laurel had gone, she and Oliver had fought, both crossing lines with each other. And just like that Felicity had walked out leaving the thing between them broken and damaged. In that moment, she had sworn to herself that she’d never let anyone else hurt her again.

Her mind drifted to last night’s events. She would’ve done things differently, had she known she’d be hurting so much from her own decision. Who was she kidding? She was in love with Oliver, of course it was going to hurt. But in a desperate attempt to not let him hurt her, she had done it herself. Every part of the pain she was enduring right now was her fault. _If only she could go back and change it._

‘Honey, it’s not too late.’ She heard her mother’s soft voice. ‘You can call him. Talk to him.’

‘I…’ Felicity coughed.

‘Baby, pull yourself together and drive me home.’ Donna said and took Felicity’s face in her hands, looking deep into her eyes. ‘And then go and see your man.’

‘He’s not my ma-’

‘Felicity Smoak!’ Donna exclaimed. ‘What are we still doing here? Drive! Go! You’ve got somewhere to be!’

Felicity couldn’t help the small and weak smile appearing on her face. She took a deep breath to calm herself a little bit, before looking in the mirror. Her eyes were puffy and red and her mascara had run down her cheeks. _She would definitely clean herself up before showing up at Oliver’s place._ She started the car and set off again.

‘You know,’ her mother started and Felicity quickly turned to look at her. Donna threw her a naughty look and grinned. ‘The best part about arguing is the make-up sex.’

‘Oh, God!’ Felicity grimaced and Donna started laughing. ‘That’s SO NOT happening tonight!’

‘What?’ Donna shrugged her shoulders innocently. ‘When I saw him earlier, he was looking rather yummy.’

‘Mom, stop.’

‘I’m just saying, you might change your mind about having sex with him tonight. I would, if I were you.’

Felicity looked at her in disgust before Donna corrected herself.

‘I mean… I don’t want to have sex with him because he’s your boyfriend and hopefully my son-in-law…’ Felicity gave her mother another shocked look. ‘I meant, that you should have sex with him.’

‘Okay, you’re probably the only parent that wants to talk about their kids’ sex life.’ Felicity chuckled.

‘You know me, dear, I don’t hold back.’

Soon they were home. Donna went to pour herself one more glass of wine and Felicity quickly ran upstairs to her room. She closed the door and threw herself on the bed. She took her phone out, and quickly found Oliver’s number. She pressed ‘Dial’ and held her breath. _One beep. Two… Five. This was such a bad idea._ Just as she was about to hang up, she heard a voice on the other side.

_‘Felicity…’_

She heard _his_ voice. The way he said her name- it wasn’t a question, it was like a prayer… He sounded breathless. What was he doing?

‘Yes, that’s me.’ She dumbly said and silently slapped her forehead.

They stood in silence, listening to each other breathing and all Felicity wanted was to curl up in bed with him and fall asleep in his arms, just like in Alaska.

‘Felicity…’ he said again.

‘I think we should…’ she started and heard him taking a sharp breath. ‘We should talk.’

‘Talk is…’ he breathed out. ‘…good.’

Felicity was holding the phone tightly waiting for him to talk.

‘Can I…’ he started talking from the other side of the line. ‘Can I come over?’

‘I don’t think that’s a good idea.’ She said and could almost imagine him furrowing his brows in confusion. ‘I mean with my mom being here with me, and the last thing we need it her watc-’

‘Okay.’ He said softly. ‘Do you… Maybe you could… stop by or…’

Felicity smiled at his disability to form a sentence. _He was just like her when he was nervous._

‘Sounds good.’ She said. ‘I’ll come in… 30 minutes, maybe.’

‘Okay.’

‘Okay… Great.’

‘Yeah.’

‘Awesome.’

 _Stop it!_ Neither of them said anything else.

‘I’ll see you soon, Felicity.’ He said quietly and hung up.

Felicity ran to her bathroom and reapplied her makeup. She went down the stairs and saw her mother looking through her movies.

‘What are you watching?’ she asked.

‘Well,’ Donna started. ‘I’m having a hard time in picking one. Got any suggestions.’

‘Pride and prejudice.’ Felicity said and winked at her amused mother.

Felicity started driving, feeling the adrenaline rush through her body. Hopefully it wasn’t too late. She had been scared, but she wasn’t anymore. She was ready. It was going to be hard, with everything else around them, but she wanted to give this thing between them a chance. It has been with her for 5 years. It was about time. She turned the radio on and raised her eyebrows with surprise when she heard the song they were playing.

_‘If you’re gonna let me down, let me down gently._

_Don’t pretend that you don’t want me,_

_Our love ain’t water under the bridge,_

_Say that our love ain’t water under the bridge._ ’

The song that was being played when the danced in Alaska. _Their song._ Felicity smiled at herself. _This had to be a sign, right?_ Soon she reached his building and took the elevator to the Penthouse, where he lived. Just as she was about to knock, the door opened and her small fist was left hanging in the air. His hair was messy and his eyes looked tired, yet alive. He was wearing a white T-shirt and grey sweatpants. They looked at each other’s eyes for a few moments just taking each other in.

‘Hi.’ He finally said.

‘Hi.’

‘Please. Come in.’ he said and moved slightly so that he wouldn’t block her way.

She walked in, and headed for the couch in his living room.

‘Do you want something? A drink?’ he said and she saw him doing that thing he did when he was nervous- rubbing his thumb against his other fingers. _Good, so she wasn’t the only one that was nervous._ ‘I have some red wine from a couple of days ago when we were working on the presentation.’

‘No, thank you.’ She said. ‘I’m driving.’

‘Right.’ He said and hesitantly sat next to her, putting some space between them.

They stood on the couch, neither looking at the other, and the silence was deafening.

‘Felicity,’ he started and she quickly lifted her eyes to meet his. _Oh, how she’d missed him_. ‘I’m really sorry.’

‘No, Oliver, I’m sorry.’ she cut him off and got closer. ‘I was scared, I was thinking too much…’

‘No, you have nothing to apologize for.’ He said and took her hands in his. ‘I pushed you into doing something you were clearly not ready for. I shouldn’t have. We were just starting to get along and I messed it up, which is typical for me.’

She shifted their hands so that she was holding his as well and looked at his gorgeous blue eyes.

‘It’s just…’ he continued. ‘When I’m with you, I can’t think straight because your presence makes me feel so much and I’m not used to it. And when I’m not with you, I can’t think straight because I miss you too much. You have this strange effect on me and I can’t even explain it. But I understand if you don’t feel the same.’

She felt the exact same way and the feeling scared and thrilled her at the same time. She wanted to be with him.

‘Oliver-’

‘Don’t apologize, please. Look, I want to be friends again-’

‘Oliver-’

‘I really don’t want to lose you,’ he cut her off again. ‘With you in my life everything is better, you make me want to be a better man.’

‘Oliver-’ she tried again, but he interrupted her once more.

‘Even if we’re friends… I want you around and I promise I will never do things like that again.’

‘KISS ME!’ she yelled over him.

He stopped his ramble and blinked at her a couple of times. He was surprised and confused.

‘Wh-What?’ he asked incredulously.

‘Kiss me.’ She repeated quietly this time.

His eyes never left hers as one of his hands slowly travelled all the way up to her neck and hesitantly pulled her head closer. He leaned in till they were a few inches away, and she felt his breath hovering over her face. His gaze was still holding hers, but his eyes dropped to her mouth and Felicity saw his Adam’s apple move as he swallowed. A warm feeling settled in her belly, as she was looking at this man, waiting for him to close the gap between them. She closed her eyes and after what felt like forever, she finally felt his mouth on hers. His lips moved slowly in synchronicity with hers. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and neck. The pull to him was so strong that soon she was sitting in his lap. That was the moment when their slow and lazy kiss turned to a new direction. He growled into her mouth and licked her lower lip asking for entrance which she willingly gave. His tongue was soon tangled with hers in a desperate dance. One of his hands was still holding her neck as the other was caressing her back gliding up and down. She lightly rocked against his hips, needing more friction. He groaned and pulled slightly away, and she could feel him growing between her legs.

‘Fe-li-ci-ty.’ He whispered.

‘It’s okay.’ She kissed him once more. ‘I want you.’

‘I want you too.’ He answered back and squeezed her tighter.

‘Like… now.’ She said and saw him pulling away, as he leaned his back on the couch.

‘Are you sure?’ he asked and his hands fell to her thighs drawing slow circles. ‘I don’t want you doing anything you’ll regret… As much as I want to, we should wait for another time.’

‘I won’t regret it.’

‘Felicity, I don’t think I could take it if I wake up tomorrow morning and you tell me that it was another mistake.’

‘I won’t regret it, I promise.’ She leaned into him and pulled his lower lip between hers, as she rocked into his hips once again. His grip on her hips tightened, and she felt the muscles in his shoulders tense. She slid her tongue in his mouth and licked the roof of his mouth. That was probably what made him stand up and lift her with him, holding her by her ass. He was walking, still kissing her, and she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist. His length was _right there_ , rubbing against her at the _right spot_. She moaned and pressed her pelvis against his. Before she knew it, she was pressed against one of his walls, as he was kissing her desperately, pressing his whole body to her. He was so strong, holding her in place, and she could feel his muscles move underneath her fingers- it turned her on even more. She reached for her hem of his T-shirt and tried taking it off him. He pulled away and looked at her intensely. His eyes with the color of the summer sky had turned into a dark and stormy shade of blue, as he quickly pulled the shirt over his head. _Holy frack_! He had been hot five years ago, but now he was… _wow_! Just wow. And just like that, at the sight of his abs and formed pecks, Felicity Smoak was speechless for the first time in her life. She looked up at him, and saw him smirking smugly. And then she saw that her lip color was smudged around his mouth and she couldn’t help the giggle from coming out. He tilted his head to the side and squeezed his eyes suspiciously.

‘It’s not a good idea to laugh at someone you’re about to have sex with, Felicity.’ He said. ‘It’s really discouraging.’

‘No, you’re fine.’ She said and pulled him to her once again, as his hold on her ass tightened more. ‘I was just thinking how red really is you color.’ She nodded towards his lips, and when he understood what she meant, he laughed with her, before kissing her again. His hips were grinding against hers as his hands were massaging her ass, keeping her in place.

‘I don’t know if you’ve noticed,’ he said and moved his mouth to her jaw, placing hot open-mouthed kisses on her skin. ‘I really like your lipsticks.’

Soon the heat was too much, and Felicity pulled away from him to take her t-shirt off too and threw it on the ground next to his. She looked at him, as his eyes were taking her in, hovering all over her torso and suddenly she felt insecure from all of the attention.

‘Damn, Felicity…’ He said quietly and bit her neck, making her moan. ‘You look hotter than five years ago.’

She chucked at that, all of her worry vanishing.

‘If I recall correctly, you recently said I’d gotten uglier.’ She said and felt his smile, as he was kissing her skin.

‘You wanted to take Unidac from me, I had to be mean.’ He answered when he pulled away. ‘I didn’t mean it, though.’

With those words, his hand slipped down her stomach and found her zipper. Felicity felt him pressing her really tightly to the wall as his hands pulled her pants down and she helped him by untangling her legs from his waist. When she was left in only her underwear, she saw him furrowing his brows, as he lifted her by the ass again.

‘Who told you to let go?’ he said and pulled her earlobe with his teeth.

‘Ow!’ she exclaimed as he bit harder that he had probably intended. _Or had he? Asshole_! ‘How would you have taken my jeans off if I hadn’t let go, genius?’

He let go of her ear and looked into her eyes so softly, before pressing a small kiss on the corner of her mouth. She felt the fingers of one of his hands, siding on her bare skin, till they reached the line of her panties. He was barely touching her- so lightly, and gently, that she wiggled a bit in an attempt to be touched more and he chuckled.

‘Oliver,’ she breathed heavily as his fingers moved the material to the side and slid inside of her.

She moaned loudly at the sensation and dropped her head on his shoulder. Two of his fingers were moving inside her, penetrating her again and again, and making her beg for more.

‘Felicity,’ he was breathing heavily in synchronicity with her.

She was holding onto his shoulders for dear life, knowing that if she let go, she would probably fall. His fingers worked their magic inside of her and she knew that she was so, so wet, and she could feel his erection trapped between their bodies. _Good, so she wasn’t the only one._ All she could do right now, was scratch his neck and back and scream out his name.

‘Fuck, Felicity,’ he groaned into the crook of her neck, sending shivers through her body. His fingers froze inside and he pulled away slightly. ‘You cold? I could turn the heater on a higher temperature and yo-’

‘Oliver!’ she almost shouted. ‘Less talky, more worky…’

He chuckled and slipped a third finger through her folds, making her arch her back into him. She panted his name over and over again, as he was surrounding her from everywhere.

‘I’ve missed this so much, Felicity.’

She closed her eyes, just listening to their breathing, feeling his actions, and her body’s response.

‘What are you doing to me?’ his voice trailed off, as he pressed a small kiss on her pulse point.

‘Oliver…’ she moaned as she felt his fingers curling inside of her. ‘God… Please…’

‘What?’ he said and she could feel the grin in his voice. _That bastard_! He was teasing her AND he was enjoying himself…

‘Enough with the teasing… Please, I-’ she breathed out heavily as he dug his fingers even deeper. ‘I can’t… Anymore… I’m gonna…’

‘Let go, Felicity.’ He kissed her mouth softly, keeping their lips together.

‘What about you?’ she asked in between moans, feeling her orgasm painfully close.

‘Felicity,’ he chuckled. ‘We have the whole night to ourselves. I’m not going anywhere and I sure as hell am not letting you go anymore.’

He pressed his thumb to her clit, with his fingers still buried inside of her, and just like that, everything that she felt for this man, listening to his sweet whispers and breaths, feeling his heart beating in sync with hers and the movement of his fingers, was too much. She came with a shout, and relaxed into his touch, feeling like jelly. He gave her a soft kiss, his tongue slowly licking hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he carried her to his bedroom.

He gently put her on the bed and took off his pants pulling his boxers with them, as well. Just then, Felicity came to her senses and her eyes widened.

‘Holy shit!’ she exclaimed. ‘You’re bigger than I remember.’

He just chuckled and crawled to her, as he easily parted her legs, something predatory in his movements.

‘I’ve always been big, Felicity.’ He winked at her and she felt her heart melting, as a second orgasm was already building up.

‘What have you been feeding it with?’ she asked incredulously and lifted herself on her elbows as he hovered over her body.

‘Are we gonna keep talking about my dick?’ he raised an eyebrow. ‘I can think of better things to do right now.’

‘Oh yeah?’ she said and swiftly pushed him on his back. She straddled his lap, leaning closer to him and pressed a hot kiss on his mouth, which he gladly returned. She lifted her ass and he took the opportunity to glide his hands under her panties, sliding them down her legs. She wiggled out of them and just as she was about to throw them on the ground on the pile of clothes, he quickly took them from her hands and put them in one of his drawers.

‘Oliver, what the hell?’ she asked incredulously.

‘I like souvenirs.’ He smirked at her and she couldn’t help giggling.

‘You know you gotta buy me new ones then.’

‘I would buy you a whole lingerie store, if you wanted, Felicity Smoak.’ He said and pulled her to him. He kissed her desperately and she returned.

In one swift move, he flipped her, _like a damn pancake_ , until she was laying under him.

He was all she could see, and smell, and feel.

He reached for one of the drawers and took out a box with condoms. He took one out and threw the box somewhere on the bed.

‘Why didn’t you put it back?’ she asked.

‘Cause we’ll be needing it _a lot_ tonight.’ he looked down to look at her as he ripped the package of the condom in his hands, before rolling it on his hard length. ‘Putting it back would mean that I will have to stop, and open, and close the drawer. So I thought I should just leave it here.’ He shrugged and lied on top of her, shifting on his elbows to keep most of his weight.

‘Oh, damn…’ she said and shook her head with a wide grin. ‘I hope you haven’t forgotten that it’s a weekday. We gotta get up early tomorrow.’

He sighed and dropped his head on her shoulder. His hands came under her back and found her bra’s clamp. He slowly slid it off her and threw it on the ground next to his pants.

There were no more barriers between them. Just him, her, the bed and the moonlight from the window. His index finger found its’ way to her cheek and caressed it. She closed her eyes and smiled at the feeling. When she opened them again he was looking into her eyes, blue looking into blue. Felicity could see his soul, and she was hoping he could see hers too.

Without breaking their gaze, he guided his erection to her entrance and slowly pushed into her, letting her adjust.

‘Oh, God.’ She closed her eyes again, and felt the small kisses on her jaw and neck, as one of his hands massaged her breast, his thumb gently gliding over her nipple.

‘Are you okay?’ he asked quietly.

‘Yes…yes…’ she moaned and arched to him as he slowly pulled out and pushed inside of her again. ‘I haven’t been with someone _that big_ in… five years.’

She opened her eyes and saw him grinning widely.

‘You’re feeding my ego really nicely, Felicity.’ He kissed her mouth and thrust into her again.

‘Who said I was talking about you?’ she raised her eyebrows, before he kissed her again.

When he finally filled her completely they both stilled breathing the same air, foreheads and noses pressed to each other. She wrapped her hands around his neck pulling him to her and gave him a sweet kiss that he immediately responded to. He pulled out and sank into her again, keeping a slow rhythm that seemed to please both of them. His fingers were tangling with her hair, but soon he took her hands in his and put them over her head, intertwining their fingers together.

Soon, the kisses became deeper, her moans more frequent, his groans slightly louder and his movements faster. His thrusts were deep and filling her completely.

When they both came, he fell on top of her and even though he was heavy she didn’t mind one bit. They lied like that for what felt like hours, sweaty, sticky and in absolute bliss.

‘Felicity,’ he finally said and pushed himself on his elbows again. He looked at her and moved a piece of hair off her face. ‘I’ve wanted to do this for five years. I’ve wanted _you_ for five years and didn’t even realize it. But now I do, and I am the luckiest man because I think I was right on time.’

She smiled and kissed his lips gently.

After five years of bad timing, they had finally made it. He was on time. She was on time. The timing was finally perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was my first time writing smut (if it's good enough to be called smut :D ) I'm really nervous. *bites nails*  
> Your comments and kudos make me really happy, so keep it up, guys!  
> This story will have 3 more chapters, I hope you'll stick till the end :) See ya next week *wink*


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys!  
> Sorry I'm a little late. I had a lot going on this week.  
> Anyway, poster made by the lovely Victoria.  
> All mistakes are mine, sorry if there's too much of them.   
> I want you to remember that this story has 2 more chapters! Oh my God o_o It's almost over. I'm working on another short story (4 chapters) and I have two more ideas for the future, hopefully you'll be around to read them ^_^  
> Thank you for your love and happy reading!

The next morning, Oliver woke up from a ticklish feeling. When he looked down he saw Felicity’s smooth legs tangled with his, as her one calf was rubbing against his. He moved his eyes to her face, and when he saw her head buried in his neck, he couldn’t help the smile that was being formed on his lips. Her arm was on his chest, and he moved his hand over hers and gently tangled their fingers.

Oliver couldn’t believe his luck. He hadn’t woken up so happy and excited in years. Felicity was sleeping beside him and the warmth from her body enveloped his. This was something he never knew he needed. If it had been any other woman, he would’ve made sure she didn’t stay the night. _But Felicity_ … She was different. He wanted her to stay tonight, and the night after that, and after that… Oliver knew. He felt this way because he loved her.

_He loved her._

It was still so weird and unfamiliar to say it in those words. Yes, even when they ‘hated’ each other, he always thought she was hot, and he never failed to notice the way her dresses hugged her curves, and he liked watching her when she talked, and he always anticipated their conversations, even if most of them ended up with a fight. This whole thing didn’t make sense to him back then. But now, he knew. It was all because deep inside, he had been in love with her.

Oliver once again smiled and placed a small kiss on her forehead. He couldn’t stop with one, so he started placing small kisses on her head everywhere he could. Far too soon, she moved and murmured something before snuggling closer to him, burying her face completely in his neck, hugging him tighter. He wrapped both of his arms around her and turned his whole body in her direction, before placing a long kiss on the top of her head. She giggled and pulled away slightly.

‘Well, good morning to you, too.’ She said through half-opened eyes and smiled at him.

‘Did you sleep well?’ he asked, before kissing her forehead again.

‘Mhm. I slept like a baby.’

‘You didn’t do very baby-like things last night, though.’ He teased her and started laughing when she slapped his stomach playfully.

‘Frack! What time is it?’ she asked all of a sudden.

‘Umm… I don’t really know.’ He answered.

‘Frack!’ she said as she pulled away from him.

He looked at her bare back as she reached for her phone on one of his drawers.

‘Oliver! Oh my God!! We’re going to be late.’ She exclaimed.

‘Hey!’ he grabbed her hands and pulled her back in his arms.

‘Oliver…’

‘Shhh…’ he whispered, as he was placing small kisses on her neck. ‘Why don’t we stay here today?’

‘Oliver, stop.’ She said, but much to his delight, she didn’t move.

‘No, really. Why do we have to go today?’ he asked.

‘Because we have work today.’

‘Yeah, but you and I just got together and-’

‘I don’t think our colleagues and employees care about that.’ She chuckled. ‘Plus, Queen Consolidated’s hosting the Starling’s Elite meeting again this week.’

‘What?’ he asked with furrowed eyebrows and pulled away. ‘Didn’t I host that three or four weeks ago?’

‘Yes, but Alexandra is not in town so we couldn’t have it in her building, and in the end it was decided that QC would host again.’

‘Who decided that?’

‘Well,’ she started before cupping his cheeks. ‘You suggested it.’

‘I did?’ he asked incredulously.

‘Oliver, were you even listening at last week’s meeting?’ she met his eyes and rolled hers when she saw his expression.

‘In my defense,’ he started. ‘You were wearing a pretty distracting dress. It was hard to listen.’

She just shook her head and smiled at him, which he returned. She stroke his dimples and quickly got out of the bed, wrapping one of the sheets around her.

‘Where are you going?’ he asked as he stretched.

‘I’m going to wash my face and… do you have a spare toothbrush?’

‘Yeah, under the sink.’

When she disappeared Oliver got up as well and followed her in the bathroom.

‘Hey!’ she cried out.

‘I’m just gonna take a quick shower.’ He answered and got in the shower.

‘We’ve gotta stop by my place before the meeting.’ She him told a couple of minutes later. ‘I need to shower as well, also I need new clothes and some makeup.’

‘We’ll go after breakfast, okay?’ he answered back as he was scrubbing his body, feeling the hot water on his skin.

‘Yeah, sounds good.’ She said and Oliver could hear the smile in her voice.

He was fast and managed to get out of the shower before she was done with brushing her teeth. He quickly made some scrambled eggs and bacon and when she was out of the bathroom, they had breakfast talking and laughing all the time. Oliver couldn’t help but think how much he enjoyed the domesticity they discovered. He hadn’t smiled and laughed like that for too long. How she managed to bring that happy and bright side of him, was a mystery to him.

When they were done, he put on one of his suits, and she put on the clothes from last night. They went to the garage to take his Bentley and he started driving to her place. With his peripheral vision he could see her looking at him. He turned his head and found her smiling in his direction.

‘What?’ he asked and looked at the road ahead, grinning.

‘Nothing.’ She said and turned to look forward as well. She was quiet for a minute before adding: ‘I’m just glad I met you again.’

His heart started beating fast even though his mind was calm and relaxed. _That woman_! He couldn’t wrap his mind around how deep under his skin she’d gotten and how every word, smile, or look of hers affected him.

‘I’m glad too.’ He said and reached to grab her hand, which was sitting her lap.

The rest of the drive was quiet, the only sound coming from the radio.

_‘It ain’t no life to live like you’re on the run._

_Have I ever asked for much?_

_The only thing that I want is your love._

_If you’re gonna let me down, let me down gently._

_Don’t pretend that you don’t want me,_

_Our love ain’t water under the bridge._ ’

Oliver smiled. ‘It’s our song, Felicity. The one we danced to in Alaska.’

He quickly turned his head to look at her, and found her looking at him already.

‘Yeah,’ she said and smiled. ‘This really is our song.’

When they reached her building, Oliver parked and then they took the elevator to the 10th floor. As they got to her door, she quickly stopped him by putting her hands on his chest.

‘What?’ he asked confused.

‘I totally forgot about my mom. My God… If I walk in with you…’ She answered and lowered her head on his chest. ‘Ugh. She’s gonna be so annoying about it, I don’t want you to listen to any of that.’

Oliver chuckled and wrapped his hands around her.

‘I’m so sorry.’ She raised her head to face him and she looked adorable.

Yes. Oliver Queen used the word _adorable_.

‘It’s okay. I can wait in the car.’

‘But I have to shower, and dry my hair and get dressed and put on my make-up and…’

‘Hey, Felicity, breathe.’ He interrupted her. ‘Is there a coffee shop around here?’

‘Oh!’ her eyes widened. ‘Yes! Yes, there is. Okay, when you leave the building, you walk down the street till you reach a traffic light. Then you turn right and-’

All of a sudden, the door opened, cutting her off mid-sentence.

‘Felicity!’ her mother’s cheerful voice rang as the woman stood on the threshold.

Her eyes met Oliver’s and a huge grin appeared on her face. Oliver returned it shyly and felt Felicity quickly jumping out of his embrace.

‘Good morning to you two.’ Donna said.

‘Hi, mom.’ Felicity said and turned to Oliver. ‘I’ll try to be quick, okay? I’ll meet you there in hopefully less than an hour.’

‘Oh, are you leaving already?’ Donna’s brows furrowed.

‘Yes, he is. I’ve got to get ready for work and he wants coffee.’ Felicity said and slightly pushed him.

‘I can make coffee.’ Donna suggested.

‘No, mom, you don’t have to.’ Felicity shook her head.

‘Thank you, Miss Smoak, but I’m gonna-’ Oliver started but got interrupted.

‘Nonsense!’ her mother protested and walked towards them.

She grabbed Oliver by the forearm and pulled him inside, talking about how she makes great coffee. When they walked in, Felicity had the most annoyed face in the world, while Donna was trying to keep her face straight, but Oliver could hear the excitement in her voice. He nervously sat down on the couch and Felicity stood next to him, placing her hand on his shoulder. Oliver wasn’t sure if she was supporting him, or herself.

‘Oh, look at you two!’ Donna finally cracked and giggled enthusiastically. ‘You made up!’

‘Yes, mom, we made up.’ Felicity said evenly. ‘I’m gonna shower, and I’ll come here soon.’

Her mother followed her to the stairs and whispered to her, but not quietly enough, so Oliver heard her.

_‘Told you sex would fix everything.’_

Oliver felt the fire in his cheeks and coughed nervously. Oh, boy. He heard Felicity’s groan and heard her climbing the stairs as quickly as possible. Donna went to make coffee and returned after a couple of minutes with two cups. She placed one of them in front of him, and took the other in her hands, as she sat down on an armchair in front of him.

‘Thank you, Miss Smoak.’

‘Oh, call me Donna, sweetie.’ She said and he felt her eyes on him as he took a sip.

They stood in awkward silence for a while, before she spoke.

‘So…’ she started. ‘You’re good now, huh?’

‘Yes.’ He said and coughed.

‘I’m glad to hear that.’ She smiled at him. ‘Felicity- she really likes you.’

He felt his lips tilt up and closed his eyes for a second to absorb her words. He opened them and answered. ‘I really like her, too.’

‘Good.’ Donna said and took a sip. ‘You need to know, she has a huge problem with being abandoned. I don’t know if she told you but her father left us a long time ago. She will never admit it, but I think it left a permanent scar, you know what I mean?’

He remembered that night from a couple of weeks ago, when she had broken down in front of him. He nodded and Donna continued.

‘She’s very confident in her skills and brain, but she’s very insecure about everything else. As if she’s not enough.’

Oliver pursed his lips. How could Felicity think that?! _How could she think she’s not enough, when she’s everything?_

‘She’s scared to commit, because she thinks at some point you’ll leave her… Just like her father left me.’ Donna chuckled humorlessly.

‘Miss Smo-… Donna, your husband was an idiot for leaving you… and her.’ He finally spoke.

‘Yeah, I know that.’ She smiled at him. ‘Because I know what kind of a man he was. But Felicity… She… She idolized him. She didn’t see his true personality. He was a great father to her, but then he left. And she used to think it was her fault. You have no idea how many years it took me to convince her of the opposite.’

Oliver leaned forward and reached for her hand. She squeezed his hand and spoke again.

‘I’m just saying, please don’t give up on her. It’s going to be hard, she’s going to be difficult. I know her too well- she’s okay now, but there will be days when she’ll push you away, and you’ll want to leave her too.’

‘I will never want that.’ He answered quickly. ‘When I said I’d fight for her, I meant it.’

‘I hope so. Cause I like you, Oliver.’ Donna smiled at him. ‘Unlike that Cooper-douche. He added to her insecurities, as well.’

‘He’s taken care of, I believe.’ Oliver said and they both laughed at the memory from yesterday.

‘Anyway...’ Donna said. ‘How was last night?’ Oliver saw a cheeky smile on her face.

‘It was okay. It was… good. We talked. We cleared the air.’ He answered trying to find the best way to avoid answering her _real_ question, _because he wasn’t going to talk about having sex with Felicity with her mother._

‘So… _the talk_ …It was only okay? Not great?’ she pushed and he let out a nervous laugh.

‘It was the best talk I’ve ever had.’ He finally answered hoping that the ground would open and the Earth would swallow him. _Not really, though, because if it did, he wouldn’t see Felicity again._

‘Oh, good.’ Donna grinned and changed the subject.

 

An hour later, Oliver was telling Donna one of his drunken stories from the past and she was laughing, when suddenly he felt a small hand on his shoulders, sliding to caress his neck.

‘Wow,’ he heard Felicity’s voice. ‘What did I miss?’

Oliver turned to look at her and he was left speechless, with his mouth hanging open. She was wearing a tight blue dress that formed every curve on her body, and her hair was in shining curls, and she smelled like vanilla orchid. Her lips were bright pink and so, so kissable. She met his gaze and winked at him.

‘Oh, honey,’ Donna said as she wiped a tear. ‘Oliver was just telling about the time he and his friend stole a police radio transceiver. You’ve gotta hear this.’

‘Maybe another time.’ Felicity answered. ‘If we don’t leave now, we’re going to be late and we have a meeting. Again.’

‘Oh, okay.’ Donna said as they all stood up. ‘Oliver, will you join us for dinner tonight?’

‘Umm…’ he was wondering if it was too early. Yes, he did want to have dinner with them, but he wasn’t sure if Felicity was ready. He looked at her direction, and when she smiled and nodded at him he knew. She was ready, too. ‘Sure.’

‘Great!’ the older woman exclaimed. ‘You can come together after work. I’ll cook something delicious.’

‘Okay, have a good day, Donna.’ He said politely.

‘Bye, mom.’ Felicity said at the same time.

‘Oh, look at you two!’ Donna said and hugged them both tightly. ‘Okay, okay,’ she said when Felicity groaned. ‘Have a nice day and have _plenty of fun_ in the office.’ She said and winked at them, as they walked out of the door.

Oliver chuckled, and Felicity blushed furiously.

‘You know,’ she started when they walked into the elevator. ‘She lied when she said she’d cook something delicious.’

‘Why?’

‘Because she can’t cook.’ Felicity laughed.

‘Oh, now I see where you get that from.’ He said teasingly and just as she was about to argue, he pulled her in and kissed her lips.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

When they reached Queen Consolidated, they went straight to the elevator and walked in it. It was only the two of them, the only sound was a relaxing jazz song coming from the radio. Oliver looked at the large mirror, and when he wanted to meet Felicity’s eyes, much to his delight, he found her checking him out. Her gaze was fixated on his butt and her cheeks were almost matching that bright pink color of her lips.

‘Felicity?’ Oliver said with an amused tone, keeping his back to her.

‘Mhm?’ she answered still keeping her eyes on the same spot.

‘You remember that time I _accidentally_ looked at your butt and you started shouting and cursing me?’

‘Yeah...’ she answered not moving her eyes.

‘Should I start shouting at you for doing the same thing right now?’ he chuckled and she finally lifted her eyes and met his in the mirror.

‘I wasn’t…’ she started and Oliver saw her cheeks turning redder, and redder. ‘I wasn’t looking at your butt… as in _your butt_ … You have a spot on your pants, I was looking at it.’

‘What?’ Oliver furrowed his eyebrows.

‘No! I mean, yeah, but don’t worry it’s small, too small…’ she reassured him. ‘Almost nonexistent, you can only see it if you look closely, really closely, so don’t worry.’ She smiled sweetly at him.

‘So _you were_ looking closely?’ he teased again.

‘I wasn’t! It was there and I just…’ she groaned. ‘Ugh. Can we drop it here?’

He laughed again and gave her a quick peck on the lips, just before the doors opened.

They reached the Queen Consolidated conference room just in time. Tommy, Ray Palmer, Sabrina Nelson, Barry and others were already there and were waiting for the meeting to start. Oliver and Felicity walked in and were immediately greeted by some of the others, Barry giving them a large and honest smile. _He was really starting to grow on Oliver._

‘Hey, guys!’ Tommy approached them with Barry, who gave Felicity a tight hug. _The longest 7 seconds in Oliver’s life._

‘Hi!’ Oliver answered and just as he was about to pull Felicity to his side, Tommy leaned in and hugged her as well, giving Oliver a cheeky grin and a wink.

‘Oh, my!’ Felicity exclaimed. ‘Is it International Hug Day today? What’s going on with both of you?’

‘Nothing, _Lissy_ , _dear_.’ Tommy chuckled, still hugging her.

‘Okay, that’s enough.’ Oliver grabbed Felicity slightly by the waist and pulled her to his body.

‘Chill, bro.’ Tommy laughed and Barry followed.

‘You know what, Thomas?’ Oliver turned to his friend. ‘Why don’t you switch seats with _Lissy_ today?’

‘Huh?’

‘You sit next to Barry, and she sits on your place next to me.’ Oliver clarified.

Tommy gave him a knowing look, and sighed. ‘Whatever.’

Oliver looked at the table and saw that there was a long tablecloth, and all kinds of small pizza-bites, cinnamon rolls, cakes, muffins, mini-sandwiches, water and juice bottles, and coffee.

‘What’s going on?’ he leaned to whisper in Felicity’s ear.

‘It’s Samantha’s birthday.’ She answered. ‘C’mon, let’s go and greet her.’

 

Fifteen minutes later, they were all settled, and Ray Palmer stood up to speak. Oliver caught him looking at Felicity’s direction a couple of times, and rolled his eyes. He fisted his hands under the table, mentally throwing a chair in Palmer’s direction, when he got an idea. The tablecloth was long enough and gave some discretion… He sneaked his hand, until he felt Felicity’s bare leg under his fingers. He heard her take a sharp inhale and smiled at himself. His hand travelled all the way up under her skirt, as his fingers caressed her inner thigh.

‘Oliver…’ she whispered. ‘What are you doing?’

‘What are you talking about?’ he asked and winked at her.

His index finger moved her panties to the side and she hissed. Oliver closed his eyes, and grinned, as he sank his index and middle finger inside of her. She gasped loudly, making a couple of people turn to look at her.

‘Felicity, are you okay?’ Barry asked from across the table.

‘Who? Me? Why are you asking? I’m fine.’ She started babbling and when Oliver curled his fingers, she breathed loudly again. ‘I’m okay, don’t worry.’

‘Okay…’ Barry answered.

As Oliver continued his assault on her sensitive parts, he could see with his peripheral vision that she was grabbing the end of the desk with both hands and was trying to breathe slowly and controlled. When he slipped another finger through her folds, she panted again, making Ray stop mid-sentence.

‘Felicity-’ he started but she cut him off.

‘I’m alright, don’t worry.’ She answered and gave him a tight smile and nod. She reached for a piece of paper and started waving it in front of her face, to create a small ‘wind’.

‘You’re really hot, Felicity!’ Palmer’s said and Oliver’s eyes shot up to look at him. ‘I meant, you’re really red as if you’ve got temperature.’

‘I’m fine, Ray, thank you.’

‘Should I call an ambulance?’ Ray asked concerned and reached to grab his phone.

Oliver let out a small laugh and looked at Palmer who was already looking at him with a serious expression on his face.

‘Don’t worry, _Ray_.’ Oliver started. ‘I’m sure that Felicity is… very well and soon she’ll feel even better.’

Ray was looking rather confused and just when he was about to talk Felicity interrupted him.

‘What were you saying about the nano-technology?’

‘Yes, um…’ Palmer shook his head slightly and got back to talking.

A few more pushes and pulls, and Felicity’s orgasm overtook her, coating his fingers. She moaned loudly causing most of the people to look at her direction. Oliver pursed his lips to keep himself from giggling and slowly took his fingers out.

‘Felicity, are you sure you’re alright?’ Barry asked.

‘Yeah, I was…’ she said and glided both her hands through her hair. ‘I just tasted one of those muffins and… om-nom-nom, they’re… delicious.’

‘Barry,’ Oliver said turning to the man sitting across him. ‘Could you pass me some napkins? They’re right in front of you.’

‘Sure thing.’ Barry smiled brightly and handed some to Oliver. He quickly wiped his hand, the one under the table and when his eyes met Felicity’s, he gave her a small wink.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

A couple of hours later, the members from Star’s Elite had left and Oliver was currently standing with QC’s board waiting for Isabel Rochev. She had called the previous day to arrange a meeting, saying ‘she had an important suggestion’. Oliver was having a small talk with Andrew Jones, the head of the board members, when Isabel and her assistants, _because apparently one wasn’t enough for her_ , walked in.

‘Good day.’ She said and placed her bag in one of the chairs.

After the board greeted her, Isabel started talking. ‘I want to thank you for agreeing to meet me so fast, but this couldn’t wait longer. Our companies- we’re partners, we’ve been for a long time. That means that every bad decision you or I make, it affects the other as well. However, every good decision that one of us makes, benefits the other.’

‘What exactly _is_ _this_ , Ms. Rochev?’ Oliver asked, visibly irritated. ‘Not to sound rude, but we’re very busy and have other things to do as well, so please- less formality and introductions, and more actual talk.’

Isabel gave him a dry look at first, but then put on a fake smile as she answered. ‘As you wish, Mr. Queen’

Oliver looked at her and shook his head. _Another useless meeting_ , he thought and lowered his head to look at his shoes. _They were much more interesting than that woman in front of him._

She continued. ‘I have come up with a plan, which is going to make Queen Consolidated and Rochev Incorporated the top-earning companies in America. Or in the world.’

‘We’re listening…’ Andrew Jones spoke.

‘We’re all familiar with Smoak Industries’ success, aren’t we?’ Isabel said.

Oliver’s head shot up, and Isabel smiled at the fact that she finally had his full attention. Oliver narrowed his eyes and looked at her intently, wondering why would she bring up Felicity’s company, and knowing deep in his bones, that this couldn’t be good.

‘I’m asking, because telling you all about it would take a lot of time.’ Isabel said and turned to look at Oliver. ‘You know about it, don’t you, Mr. Queen? I know you’re… very close to Miss Smoak and she probably shares business stuff with you… along with other things.’

Her eyes stared at his, not blinking, as she slowly raised an eyebrow. Oliver once again regretted sleeping with her, because she was obviously still bitter that he had left her that night, maybe even jealous that he was spending time with Felicity.

‘I don’t understand why we’re bringing Miss Smoak in this conversation.’ He said.

‘Oh, Mr. Queen.’ Isabel said and gave him a fake smile. ‘I’m sure you’re very interested in any conversation that involves her, so I don’t think you actually mind me mentioning her.’

‘Your. Point.’ Oliver growled.

‘Look at you, suddenly interested in the meeting.’ Isabel laughed. ‘Maybe we should bring her up at every meeting so that you pay attention.’

Oliver felt his ears burning, as he saw a couple of the board members turning their heads towards him. Some of them were looking at him knowingly, while others had surprise in their eyes.

‘Isabel…’ he started but got cuff.

‘Felicity Smoak helped the company a lot, she basically made it stood up on its’ feet after Alex Matthews almost destroyed it… She is the key to their success. Let me remind you that even though you currently both own Unidac Industries, she’s still not your partner. She’s competition.’

Oliver laughed. ‘She’s not. Unlike you, she doesn’t enjoy bringing others down… I don’t see how she’s competition. She’s doing her thing, we’re doing ours. Also, I don’t understand why we are STILL talking about her.’

‘We need to bring her down.’ Isabel finally said. ‘We need to eliminate Felicity Smoak.’

Oliver’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open. ‘You’re crazy.’ He answered after a long silence and stood up. ‘We can’t do that and even if we could, I’d neve-’

‘Actually, we can.’ She said and clicked her fingers.

One of her assistants stood up quickly and walked around the table, placing a folder in front of everyone.

‘I’ve actually come up with a plan.’ She continued. ‘All of my ideas are written on these couple of pages.’

Oliver was still on his feet, and looked down to see the black folder named ‘SMOAK IND. FILES’.

‘Most of you probably don’t know, but her father left her mother a long time ago, so she was raised by a single parent. Turns out her father, Noah Kuttler, was a genius with technology as well. My people tracked him down, and he knows a lot of things about Felicity Smoak. Things he’s willing to spill if he’s given a small amount of money. And by small, I mean one million dollars, which is nothing for companies like ours.’ Isabel clarified. ‘We pay him, take her down, and then take the company and all its’ profits.’

Oliver’s anger was starting to take over as he looked up at Isabel with enraged and dangerous eyes.

‘I object.’ He said. ‘This meeting is over.’

‘Oliver, are you sure your mind is not clouded by your… closeness to Miss Smoak?’ Andrew Jones asked.

‘Excuse me?’ Oliver asked back. ‘What is that supposed to mean?’

‘Oh, come on, Queen,’ somebody from the board shouted. ‘Everyone knows you’re into her.’

‘My relationship with Felicity Smoak is none of your goddamn business and has nothing to do with why I disagree with Isabel Rochev’s suggestion.’ Oliver yelled back.

‘Then why don’t you agree?’

‘First of all, we can’t run her company. It’s a tech company, we’re not!’

‘Oh, please.’ Isabel rolled her eyes. ‘We can easily find someone to help us with it. Curtis Holt, Cisco Ramon…’

‘Are all her friends!’ Oliver answered back. ‘They’re not going to stab her in the back like that.’

Oliver was the only one standing up, while everyone was listening. ‘This meeting is over. The suggestion is rejected.’

He stormed out of the room and went to his office. A couple of minutes later he heard, people coming out of the conference room, and heard heels coming to him.

‘Oliver,’ Isabel said as she walked in.

‘Get out!’ He shouted. ‘Now!’

‘Think about your company. You need to look at this like a CEO.’ She shouted back.

‘And how do you think I’m looking at it now?’ he furrowed his eyebrows.

‘Like a man in love.’ She answered with a stiff expression.

They stared at each for a minute, before she spoke.

‘I’m gonna leave the files here,’ she put the folder on his desk. ‘Look through it, and when you do, we’ll talk again.’

She left the room and Oliver sat on his chair exhausted. He didn’t know how long he stood like that, staring at the ceiling, when he heard heels on the floor again. Guessing it was Isabel again, he rolled his eyes.

‘I told you to get out of here.’ he looked down and saw Felicity smiling at him. ‘Oh, hey!’ he quickly changed his tone and stood up.

‘Hey to you, too.’ She walked to him and kissed him sweetly. ‘Who made you mad?’

‘Oh, no one important.’ He said and lowered his head, so that it was in the crook of her neck, making her giggle.

‘You ready for dinner?’ she asked and he jumped up.

‘Shit, I forgot!’

‘Did you make other plans?’

‘No, but I let a shitty meeting go on for too long.’ He kissed her again. ‘Give me 10 minutes to shower and we’re good to go.’

‘You have a shower here?’ she asked incredulously.

‘My father wanted one when they were constructing the building.’ He answered and left her alone.

He went to the bathroom and undressed quickly. He set the temperature of the water and got in. While he was washing himself, he was thinking about various subjects- his mother, Thea, Felicity, the meeting… When he was done, he dried himself up, and realized he hadn’t taken a spare suit in the bathroom.

‘Felicity,’ he shouted. ‘Felicity, could you hand me a suit from that big wardrobe?’

She didn’t answer back, so he tried again a couple of times. When she didn’t say anything Oliver got worried so he went out with a towel wrapped around his lower body, only to find Felicity sitting on his couch with a shocked expression on her face, holding a black folder. Suddenly he realized what was in the folder, and his eyes widened. He felt his knees buckle, as his heart started racing fast. He quickly got to her and took the folder out of her hands, before throwing it in the bin.

‘Felicity, it’s-’

‘I didn’t mean to go through your stuff, it’s not like me to do that… But I saw my company’s name on that folder and curiosity took over.’

‘It’s not what it looks like.’ He told her and took her hands in his.

‘So this is not a folder that has all kinds of information about me, my family and my past, ready to take me down?’ she asked and slipped her hands. ‘God, I’m so stupid for trusting you!’

‘Felicity, please… Isabel Rochev-’

‘I’m an idiot. We spent a whole year hating each other, then we become friends, and a month later there is a plan to destroy me? I should’ve known this would happen. Why else would you suddenly care about me?’ She shook her head and grabbed her purse.

‘Felicity! It was never sudden. I’ve been in love with you for a long time.’

He was getting frustrated and before he could think, he lowered himself, slanting his rough and desperate mouth over her soft lips, pressing her body to his. She started struggling, trying to get away, and he felt his heart clenching, before he finally let her go.

 ‘I should’ve known you’d choose her over me.’ Felicity said. ‘You’re partners after all.’

‘Felicity, no!’ he grabbed her hand, before she walked out of the office. ‘Where are you going?’

‘Home.’

‘Stop!’ he blocked the door. ‘Look, the whole board agreed, but I told them that we’re not going to do that.’

‘Why did you keep the folder then?’ she asked.

‘I... She brought it here.’

‘Why was she in your office?’

‘She came to leave the folder. Damn it, I don’t know why, Felicity. I swear!’ he started pleading with her. ‘Please, stay here and we’ll talk it through.’

‘I think I’ve heard enough for today.’ She pushed him to the side and walked out.

‘Felicity!’ he shouted after her, but it was too late.

_She was gone._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it too late now to say sorry?   
> ~~~~  
> Don't hate me, please *puppy eyes*


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!  
> I can't believe I'm updating on time (a couple of hours earlier, actually :D)!  
> Poster made by the lovely Victoria.  
> This isn't beta-d, all mistakes are mine.   
> Thank you a thousand times for sticking with this story, thank you for the comments, love and support! I am over the moon! I am so so so happy that you like the story, it means the world to me! I've said it before, but I have a couple of other ideas and when I start writing those stories, I hope you like them as well.  
> Anyway, happy reading! ^_^

Oliver stopped the car and got out of it. Slowly, he walked back to his apartment and unlocked the door. When he stepped in, he immediately dropped his coat and his already loose tie on the floor.

He needed to eat something. Not that he was hungry, but he hadn’t put anything in his mouth for over 10 hours. He stepped in the kitchen. His heart clenched in his chest at the sight of unwashed dishes from the breakfast he’d shared this morning with _her_. They had talked and laughed and kissed and it was so, so easy and good… Apparently, too easy and too good to be real. He took a look at a glass with her lipstick stain on it, sitting on the counter. Anger rushed through his veins, as he took the glass and threw it on the ground. Shattered glass fell, spreading all around the floor.

He wasn’t hungry. He was tired.

Oliver stumbled a couple of times before he finally walked back to his bedroom. He leaned on the door and took a deep breath.

A bittersweet and familiar scent hit. His nostrils flared. _Vanilla orchid_ … His whole bedroom was soaked in _her scent_.

_Fuck…_

Oliver growled and grabbed the closest object to him, which happened to be book, and threw it to the opposite wall. He rubbed his eyes and went to pick the book up to return it. He reached the bed and saw a couple of blonde hairs on one of the pillows.

Felicity Smoak was everywhere. She had left her mark on him and everywhere in his apartment.

 _He can’t do this. He can’t spend the night here. Alone._ Not after she had been there, in his arms, just last night.

He straightened his arm to look at his watch and discovered it was only 7:20 pm. He pulled his phone out and dialed Thea’s number.

‘Ollie!’ she answered after a couple of beeps. ‘What’s up?’

‘Hey, Speedy.’ He tried smiling but he was sure it came out more as a grimace. ‘Did you have dinner already?’

‘No, not yet. Raisa’s still cooking.’ Thea told him. ‘Why? You coming over?’

‘Yeah.’ He simply said. ‘I’ll be there soon. See you then.’

‘Ollie, wait.’ Thea stopped him. ‘You okay?’

‘Um…’ he swallowed through the bump in his throat and answered weakly. ‘Yeah.’   

‘You don’t sound okay.’

‘It’s fine, Thea. Don’t worry about it. I’m on my way now.’

‘O-kay… See you soon.’

‘Yeah.’

Oliver quickly changed into his favorite jeans and a simple black Henley. He opened his wardrobe and put a couple of T-shirts and some pairs of jeans and pants. He couldn’t live here after her. Not right now. Maybe not ever.

His drive to the Mansion was quiet- he didn’t want to take that risk. Last time, fate had been playing with him, with all those meaningful and romantic songs, so… _yeah. No, thank you_. He decided to stay a couple of days at his first home with his mother, sister and step-father till he figured things out. Maybe he would start looking for a new apartment. His current one held too many memories for him to live there peacefully.  

He parked the car and was immediately greeted by Thea, who hugged him tightly, which he returned. When she pulled back, he avoided her eyes, not wanting to worry his little sister.

‘Are you moving back?’ she asked.

‘Um, yeah, for a while.’ He answered.

‘Good.’ She said and he finally met her gaze. ‘I’ve missed you.’

‘I’ve missed you too.’ He hugged her again.

‘Raisa just finished cooking, she’s now setting the table.’ Thea informed him as they walked in.

‘Sounds good.’

‘Oliver!’

Oliver turned around to look at his mother who looked both excited and confused to see him.

‘Hi, mom!’

‘What are you doing here?’ she gave him a small hug and kissed his cheek. ‘Not that I mind, but you don’t come back very often.’

‘I missed you, guys.’ He answered.

‘Even me?’

Oliver looked behind his shoulder to face Slade, who was slowly coming down the stairs. When he reached them, he patted Oliver’s back and gave him a man hug.

‘Even you.’ Oliver managed to chuckle slightly.

‘Well, then,’ Slade pulled back. ‘I guess we can find a seat for you at the table.’

‘Shut up, old man!’ Oliver teased him. ‘It was my home before it was yours.’

‘Oh, really?’ his step-father asked and put one arm around Oliver’s throat, while his other hand messed up his hair.

‘Stop that! Hey!’ Oliver started laughing as he was trying to get out of Slade’s grip.

His mother and Thea were laughing as well, and when Slade finally let him go the whole family sat and had dinner.

‘What happened to your apartment, Kid?’ Slade asked just as Raisa was serving dessert. ‘Did you find a rat?’

Oliver stilled in his seat. His mother and sister hadn’t mentioned it, but he knew they were full of questions as well, judging by the curiosity, written on both their faces. Slade, however, had never been tactic or discrete. So it was no surprise that he asked.

‘Well…’ Oliver coughed. ‘I… I’ve been living alone for a while and I got kind of bored.’

‘Bored?’ his mother asked incredulously. ‘You didn’t call… one of your friends?’

Oliver met Moira’s eyes. He knew exactly what she meant, but he wasn’t like that anymore. He didn’t want to call a hooker, and he didn’t want to go home with a random girl… He wanted just one. One that always ran away from him.

‘No, Mom. I didn’t.’

‘That’s… interesting.’ Moira said as she took a bite from her soufflé.

‘Yeah. Definitely.’ Thea said just as surprised. ‘But I’m really happy for you.’

‘What is that supposed to mean, Speedy?’ Oliver furrowed his eyebrows.

‘I’m not a kid anymore, Ollie. I know you used to be a man-whore.’

‘Thea!’ Moira put her spoon on the table.

‘No, no. Let her speak, darling.’ Slade chuckled and fist-pumped Thea.

‘Look, brother,’ Thea continued. ‘I’m not judging you. I’m actually proud of you. Now that you have Felicity, you seem happier.’

Oliver swallowed hard.

‘For a second I was wondering why you didn’t call her, but then I remembered- she was sick these days, so I understood why didn’t go to her.’ Thea said and took a sip of her water.

‘Felicity?’ Moira raised her eyebrows. ‘Felicity Smoak? The CEO of Smoak Industries.’

‘Yes, mom.’ Thea answered for Oliver.

‘So…’ Moira turned to her son. ‘You’re dating her.’

‘I-’ Oliver said but Thea interrupted.

‘Yeah. Since Tuesday night. Ollie put on his best suit when he took her out.’

‘That’s lovely.’ Moira said. ‘Why don’t you invite her when she recovers from her illness? Raisa can cook something delicious. Is she allergic to something?’

‘MOM!’ Oliver shouted all of a sudden. Everyone turned to look at him. ‘We’re not dating.’

‘What?!’ Thea asked with furrowed eyebrows. ‘But you-’

‘No ‘buts’, Thea.’

‘What happened?’ Moira asked. ‘Why did you break up?’

‘We didn’t-’

‘Did she do something?’ Thea interrupted him. ‘Did you do something?’

‘You didn’t cheat on her, did you?’ Moira asked again.

‘You know what?’ Oliver finally managed to talk over his mother and sister. ‘I’m finished with dinner.’

He stood up and ignored Thea and Moira’s apologies and shouts for him to come back. Oliver got back to his old room and lied on his bed.

What was Felicity doing now? Were they still together? Would she call? What could he do for her?

He closed his eyes, with questions about Felicity on his mind, before letting darkness surround him.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

Oliver opened his eyes suddenly and sat up rapidly, not knowing where he was. He looked around and when he saw the familiar view from the big window, he relaxed. He was in the Mansion and he had fallen asleep.

He rubbed his eyes and took his phone out of his pocket. It was 1:12 am. He decided that he wasn’t going to fall asleep again and stoop up. He left his room and headed for the library, where he kept his Scotch.

To his surprise, when he walked in, the lights were already on. Oliver stepped inside and saw Slade looking through the books.

‘Ah,’ the older man said. ‘I knew you’d come.’

Oliver took a few steps slowly and sat on one of the chairs. Slade sat on the chair next to him and put two glasses in front of them, before pouring some of the alcohol. They clinked their glasses and drank the whole content.

‘So…’ Slade started as he was putting some more Scotch. ‘Care to share why we are drinking?’

Oliver stood silent for a while, before answering quietly. ‘It’s Felicity.’

‘What did she do?’ Slade asked as he was sipping his drink.

‘She…’ Oliver took the glass and swirled it in his hands, watching the liquid move. ‘I want to be with her but she doesn’t want to be with me.’

‘Why not?’

‘I just… I can’t make anything right. I’ve known her for a long time, and… she still can’t trust me because of who I was.’

Slade was listening to him silently.

‘Isabel Rochev wants us to destroy Smoak Industries.’ Oliver met the older man’s shocked eyes. ‘I know, I know, it’s impossible. But Isabel seems to believe in the opposite. She has all these ideas, she even put them in a _black_ folder.’

Slade laughed. ‘What a stuck-up bitch.’

‘Yeah, well, she brought that folder in my office and Felicity found it.’

‘Didn’t you tell her it was Isabel’s idea?’

‘I did. But she wouldn’t believe me.’

‘Why?’ Slade poured them more Scotch.

‘Her father left her a long time ago, her ex used her and cheated on her…’ Oliver took a deep breath. ‘I slept with her while I was with Laurel.’

‘Well, damn, mate.’ Slade shook his head.

They drank in silence for a while, when Slade suddenly spoke.

‘You know what, Oliver?’ he started. ‘She’s the kind of girlfriend that God gives you young, so that you’ll know loss for the rest of your life.’

Oliver huffed. ‘Who said that?’ He met Slade’s innocent eyes. ‘Oh, come on, you don’t expect me to believe that you just came up with this.’

‘Okay, you win. ’Slade laughed. ‘It’s a quote by Junot Diaz… But it doesn’t matter who said it first. What matters is it’s true.’

‘It is.’ Oliver confirmed. ‘So what now? I’m supposed to just get used to it and live with ‘that loss’? Because I can’t… _do that_. I _can’t_ live with that pain.’

‘No, Kid.’ Slade shook his head again. ‘You see, we’re always told about this patient and calm love. The truth is- it doesn’t fucking exist.’

Oliver looked up to meet his eyes.

‘How many couples without any problems have you met?’ Slade asked. ‘None! Because true love is not patient and kind all the time. True love is a lot of things, Kid. It’s greedy, needy, and passionate, it makes you miserable, happy, angry and etc. Yes, it can bring you peace, but it comes hand in hand with every other possible emotion. Love changes, and challenges, and breaks, and builds, and takes, and gives … You can’t expect everything to be smooth all the time. You’re not perfect, and neither is she. You have issues- well, so does she.’

Oliver was completely focused on Slade’s words.

‘Obviously, she has some insecurities. She’s scared of being abandoned and used. And I think that you staying away, doesn’t help her much. She’s afraid of being left alone, so be with her. Be next to her. Show her you have no intention of letting her go.’ Slade said that and took a sip. ‘Because, Oliver, when you find the one for yourself, you never stop trying, you never stop fighting. And I believe that Miss Smoak is the one for you.’

Oliver was listening and looking at Slade with his eyes wide open.

 _Holy crap!_ When did Slade get so wise? Since when did he give such relationship advice?

‘Please, say something, Kid. I’m starting to think you swallowed your tongue.’

‘I think you should become a motivational coach.’ Oliver finally said, making Slade laugh loudly.

They quickly changed the subject, and fell into an easy conversation. About an hour later, Oliver got up to walk away, when Slade called him by his name.

‘Oliver,’ he started. ‘What are you going to do now?’

Oliver knew Slade wasn’t asking whether he was going to sleep or watch TV. He was asking about Felicity.

‘I’m going to talk to her at the Charity Gala tomorrow night.’

Slade nodded slowly and smiled at Oliver, which he returned.

Oliver got back to his room and after staring at the ceiling for a while, he fell asleep again.

 

 

Oliver walked in the ball room and looked around. He saw all of Starling’s biggest businessmen and their partners talking and laughing at different things. There were children running and jumping around. The staff were offering champagne to the guests, or serving the tables. As he was eyeing the room, a small girl accidentally bumped into him. Oliver quickly caught her before she fell down.

‘I’m sorry.’ She said shyly and looked down, making Oliver smile.

‘It’s okay.’ He answered. ‘Where are your mum and dad?’

‘They are…’ the little girl looked around and then pointed at a couple in the other end of the room. ‘There.’

Oliver followed her finger and saw her parents. Luckily for him, he knew her father, who was a good-hearted lawyer with a great sense of humor, named Presley Benson.

‘I know your daddy.’ He told the girl and offered his hand. ‘Do you want me to take you to your parents?’

The little girl nodded timidly and hesitantly took his hand.

‘So,’ Oliver started. ‘I’m Oliver. What’s your name?’

‘Jade.’

‘Nice to meet you, Jade.’ Oliver smiled at her and she returned.

‘Oliver,’ she asked. ‘Do you have a date tonight?’

‘I…’ Olive huffed and chuckled slightly. ‘Not really. You?’

‘Can I be your date?’ Jade looked at him with her big green eyes.

‘I would love that.’ He answered and smirked at her.

‘Daddy, daddy,’ Jade shouted when they finally reached her parents.

‘Oh, my…’ her father took her in his hands and lifted her up. ‘What did you do this time?’ he asked when he saw Oliver with her. ‘Did she spill something on you, Oliver?’

‘No, daddy.’ The girl shook her head. ‘Oliver is my date.’

Presley looked at him with a funny expression and he furrowed his eyebrows. Oliver smiled at them and had a small talk with Presley, before he spotted Tommy. He excused himself, and promised Jade a dance later.

‘Sup, buddy?’ Tommy said and handed him a glass of Whiskey when Oliver got to him.

‘Nothing much.’ Oliver took a sip. ‘Have you seen Felicity anywhere?’

‘Why are you asking _me_ where _your_ girlfriend is?’ Tommy grinned.

‘Right…’ Oliver kept on looking around.

‘Mr. Queen!’

Oliver turned around and saw Jerry walking to him.

‘Hey, Jerry. Where’s Felicity?’

‘She’s coming. She just got in the building so she’ll be here any minute.’ Jerry said and took a glass of champagne.

The second the words left his mouth, Oliver’s stomach turned at the sight of Felicity walking in. She was wearing a black and shiny dress with one sleeve and a deep slit. Her hair was pinned low and her red lips were distracting him from afar.

The magic of her appearance was gone, as soon as Oliver realized that Ray _fucking_ Palmer had his hand on her waist. Oliver swallowed thickly and fisted his palms. His blood was boiling in his veins and his heart was beating wildly in his chest.

Palmer told her something and she chuckled nervously. She looked so awkward next to him and Oliver would’ve probably laughed if he wasn’t so angry.

Suddenly, Felicity’s eyes were on him. They stared at each other from afar, before she whispered something to Ray. He nodded and left her, as she slowly made her way to Jerry, Oliver and Tommy.

‘Hey, Lissy!’ Tommy greeted.

‘Hello.’ She said. She was purposely avoiding Oliver’s eyes.

They started talking about something, but Oliver couldn’t focus on anything they were saying. His gaze hadn’t moved from her from the second he saw her walk in. A couple of minutes later, Tommy excused himself saying he needed to meet his partners and to be with them for a while.

‘Okay,’ Jerry said as soon as Tommy left. ‘What is going on?’ he asked visibly irritated.

Finally, Felicity’s eyes met Oliver’s and his heart clenched. _That woman!_ How could she do it with just one look?

‘I don’t know what happened between you, but I can sense the tension.’ Jerry continued.

‘What happened between us is between us, Jerry.’ Felicity said. ‘Please, stay out of it.’

‘I will stay out of it, if you stop looking like he killed your dog… I’m not making you tell me anything. I’m just doing my job, Felicity. Currently, you two seem extremely awkward. Not a good look for the photos that are being taken.’

Oliver saw Felicity lifting her head up and planting a huge smile on her face. He followed her act and soon, even if they weren’t talking to each other, they finally managed to at least look friendlier.

‘Oliver?’

He turned around and saw Jade looking at him.

‘Hey, Jade.’ He smiled at her.

‘Can we dance now? I’m starting to feel sleepy, and soon mommy and daddy will take me home.’

‘I…’ for a second he looked at Felicity and saw her smiling. When she saw him looking at her, she immediately wiped the smile off her face and took a sip of her champagne. ‘Sure.’

He and the small girl walked to the dance floor and when he lifted her in his arms, he started swaying lightly.

‘Oliver,’ Jade asked all of a sudden. ‘Was that your girlfriend?’

Oliver smiled and as he turned around he once again met Felicity’s blue orbs. ‘Kind of… Well, not really.’

‘But you like her?’

Oliver chuckled. ‘How did you know?’

‘Please…’ Jade caressed his shoulders. ‘You’re very obvious. Have you watched cartoons?’

‘Yes. A long time ago.’

‘You know how in cartoons when a boy likes a girl they draw heart eyes on him? That’s how you’re looking at her.’

‘Well, Jade, you’re very observant.’

‘I see why you like her, though. She’s pretty.’

‘Yeah, she’s very pretty.’ Oliver smiled.

He continued dancing with Jade for a while. When the song ended, she ran to her father, who gave Oliver a nod and a wink.

Oliver started walking to Jerry and Felicity, who were talking animatedly. When they saw him getting closer, they immediately shut up and Oliver understood they were talking about him. Suddenly, a slow song started playing and Jerry spoke.

‘You should dance.’

‘Jerry,’ Felicity started.

‘Shh,’ Jerry cut her off. ‘You need to show people you’re on good terms.’

‘But we’re not.’ She added.

Oliver shot her a look.

‘Felicity…’ Jerry said and she sighed.

She started walking alone to the dance floor, not waiting, and Oliver quickly followed her. When she stopped they looked at each other for a second before she put her hand on his shoulder. He loosely wrapped his arm around her waist and took her free hand in his.

‘ _Home now, end of the night._

_It’s colder to turn on your side._

_And I know you’re up in two hours._

_But we didn’t get tonight we don’t have tomorrow,_

_So don’t ruin now._ ’

The words of the song, that was currently played, triggered unfamiliar emotions in Oliver’s heart. He had never felt this way about anyone. What was it about her that made him feel like this? Ollie Queen had always been a pretentious and shallow boy. He had wanted to attend parties, to have chicks, to live like there wasn’t going to be tomorrow. But Oliver Queen was a simple man that wanted happiness, and he had found it in a small fireball, named Felicity Smoak.

‘ _How we gonna move together? Just come closer._

_If we don’t move together, just come closer._

_How we gonna breathe? How we gonna be together?_

_Just keeping the peace, between the sheets._ ’

Being with Felicity had given him a real sense of peace. Something that he hadn’t had in a long time. When it was just the two of them, in their little bubble, he felt content, he felt like a better man. He hated how the real world always interfered and damaged what he had with her.

He pulled her closer, and now every inch of her body was pressed to him. She pulled her head away to look at him, but this time it was his turn to avoid her gaze. He didn’t want to see or hear her pushing him away again. He wanted to stay in this moment, with her in his arms forever. He didn’t want to talk because he knew that she wanted to end things permanently. He wished he had more time. He wished he could change her mind. He didn’t know how. So, instead, he tried to stay in that bubble of theirs, where they were always happy.

_‘… and everything’s loud._

_Oh, I’m sorry, I’ve woken you now._

_And we’ll argue the tiniest thing,_

_But we didn’t get tonight, we don’t have tomorrow,_

_So I’m done whispering, done whispering._ ’

Oliver lowered his forehead so that it was placed on the crown of her head. He couldn’t sense that sweet vanilla orchid scent of hers. He let out a shaky breath, knowing exactly what that meant. She had proven him right. She was indeed, moving on. How could she do it so easily? Why couldn’t he? Why was he left with all the pain?

‘Are you here with Palmer?’ he whispered and felt her stiffen.

Although it hurt him to think about it, he didn’t pull back from her.

‘Why do you care?’ she whispered back.

He closed his eyes shut and inhaled shakily. ‘You know why.’

‘I didn’t come with him. I just met him at the door.’

_‘So maybe don’t give me cold, cold shoulder._

_Before you go, turn around, let me hold you._

_And let me say in the dark of the morning,_

_Just one more thing…’_

Oliver pulled his forehead up from her head and met her eyes. She looked so beautiful and he was not ready to give up.

He lowered his head and tried to capture her lips with his. Instead, he ended up kissing her cheek, as she’d turned her head away.

‘Oliver…’  

‘No, Felicity,’ he shook his head. ‘Don’t run away. Don’t do this again.’

‘Oliver…’

‘I’m trying so hard to fight for us. But I can’t do it on my own.’

‘I have to go.’ She said and pulled away from him.

‘Felicity!’ he shouted after her.

She quickly ran to Jerry and told him something, before she headed to the exit.

‘Damn it!’ Oliver cursed under his breath and ran after her.

The cold wind hit his body, as he walked out of the building. He saw her small silhouette running slowly further and further.

‘Felicity!’ he yelled as he started chasing her down the street. ‘Felicity, wait!’

She stopped all of a sudden. ‘What do you want, Oliver?’

‘Felicity,’ he answered when he finally reached her. ‘You know very well that I didn’t want to destroy your company. You know very well it was Isabel’s doing.’

‘Oliver,’ she turned her head in the opposite direction.

‘No, listen to me. I spoke to my board today. We are cutting our partnership with her company.’

‘You didn’t have to do that.’

‘No, I did. Not only because of yesterday’s suggestion. I reached your friend Curtis Holt and asked him to dig into their computers and stuff. Turned out she was using Queen Consolidated money for herself.’

‘Oh.’

‘Yeah!’ he answered.

She stood silent for a second before answering. ‘That doesn’t change things between us, Oliver.’

‘What?’

‘I have issues, Oliver. I’m scared to commit. Especially to you. I don’t think-’

‘Let me help you.’ He pleaded with her. ‘I have issues, too. We can work through them together. Allow me to be next to you-’

‘Oliver, no.’

Oliver saw the tears escaping her eyes and took her hands in his.

‘Felicity, stop playing safe… I love you…’

She gasped. Her eyes widened as more tears fell down.

‘I love you.’ He repeated. ‘And I think you love me too. We need to be together, Felicity, can’t you see that? Can’t you see how fate always brings us back to one another? I think that-’

‘Stop thinking, Oliver!’ she stopped his words. ‘You’ve never been good at it.’

‘Felicity…’

‘I can’t do this. I’m hurting you and I’m hurting myself. Please, please, let me go.’ She was crying harder.

‘I can’t do that.’ He shook his head and pursed his lips. ‘I can’t let you go when you’re all I’ve ever wanted.’

‘Oliver! Look at us! We’re constantly fighting!’

‘That’s not true.’ He argued.

‘Right. If we’re not arguing we’re hurting each other. I can see that you’re in pain. I am too. And I’m aware of the fact that I’m the problem. I can’t live like that, Oliver. There’s only drama with us.’

‘You know damn well that’s not true, Felicity. There are feelings between us.’

Oliver felt like crying himself, but the tears just couldn’t come out.

‘Leave me be. You don’t need me. You can have any woman that you want.’ She pulled her hands out of his.

‘The only woman I want is you.’ He told her with a desperate voice.

‘I’m so sorry, Oliver.’ She said and turned her back to walk away.

‘Felicity!’ he shouted after her again. ‘You’re throwing away everything we could have!’

She didn’t turn around. She didn’t say a word. She just walked. Walked away from him. Walked out of his life.

Oliver stood on the street in the cold, watching her slowly slip away from him. _Again_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know... I'm sorry. But you've gotta understand Felicity, she's really struggling with her trust-issues.  
> Also, the song they danced to is called 'Move together'. It's by James Bay, but there is a cover by Leroy Sanchez and I LOVE IT! I strongly recommend it to you! You should go and listen to Leroy's cover! And imagine Olicity dancing to it for real. UGH... my heart...  
> Anyway, next week I'm uploading the last chapter! The big finale! YAY! I'm really excited. Feel free to comment, and if you liked it you could leave me a kudo *wink*.  
> See you next week, friends. ^_^


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my God! The end is here! *happy and sad tears*  
> 1\. I'm sorry for the delay, friends. I barely had any free time to sit down and write, but anyway... It's here!  
> 2\. I'm currently writing another story, it will be shorter, but I won't upload it till at least next month. On 27th March I'm having my most important exam EVER, and I gotta study.  
> 3\. I want to thank all of you for your comments, support and love for this story. When I first started it, I had no idea how many people would like. But now that I've seen you, guys... THANK YOU! <3 <3 <3   
> So, here's the last chapter to this story! Happy reading!

**_ (Oliver’s POV) _ **

Oliver spent one of the most restless and sleepless nights in his life. He was tossing and turning as sleep just didn’t come. At one point, he sat up, and walked out to get fresh air at his room’s balcony.

_It was over._

Oliver knew he could have any woman in the world. He had never had problems with women in the past. _Then again, he’d never been in love before_. Oliver Queen had never loved a woman in his 26 years. He’d hurt a lot of girls and women before and now the tables had turned.

Felicity Smoak was his curse.

Also, Felicity Smoak was his blessing.

What he had with her, he didn’t want with anyone else. She was a pain in his ass sometimes, but at the same time she healed his broken parts like no one had. What an amazing mess she was, he though. A woman, a child, a devil, and an angel.

She was the beginning and the end of everything for him.

Oliver just couldn’t wrap his mind around how a person could be so addictive. Because he was addicted to her. He _wanted_ her in his life. _No, scratch that._ He _needed_ her in his life. With her around, everything made sense. She was the best thing that had ever happened to him.

_And he’d lost it. He’d lost her._

He had lost Felicity Smoak. She didn’t want to give them a chance and there was nothing he could do about it now. He leaned on the balcony and took a deep breath.

It was a chilly night and Oliver had to come back inside far too soon. He once again lied on the bed and stared at the ceiling. She wasn’t with him and he could feel it. Her absence was all around him- just like the sky, spread over everything. He wanted everything from her- her mind, her body, her soul, her heart. _But he couldn’t have any of that._ That thought was making him frustrated beyond belief.

The corners of his eyes burned, but he fought the tears back and after what seemed like an eternity, he fell asleep.

 

In the morning, he had breakfast with his family. Neither Thea, nor Moira pushed him to talk like the last time they’d had dinner. Oliver was almost one-hundred percent certain that Slade told them not to, so he was kind of thankful to the other man. Instead, they spent the morning talking about Thea’s boyfriend- Roy. Slade and Moira shared their plans for their Wilson-Queen family vacation. Ever since they’d gotten together, they always went somewhere with Oliver and Thea for a week; it had turned into a tradition. This year they were planning on going to Bora Bora and Thea was looking forward to it. Oliver nodded and spoke from time to time, but barely heard anything over his own thoughts.

‘Whatcha thinking about, Kid?’ Slade asked.

‘Sorry, what?’ Oliver brought his attention back to the conversation.

‘I asked what you were thinking about.’ Slade smirked.

‘I…’ Oliver started. ‘Since I’m back here, I was thinking of bringing more stuff from my apartment.’

‘You want me to help you?’ Slade asked before taking a sip of his coffee.

‘No, I’ll take a couple of files and my laptop. I have everything else I need here. Then I’ll go to the office to deal with work stuff.’

Oliver took a deep breath before speaking again.

‘I’m thinking of selling the Penthouse.’

‘What?!’ Moira and Thea asked at the same time.

‘Why?’ his mother wondered.

‘I just…’ he let out a shaky breath. ‘I got sick of it.’

‘Ollie,’ Thea started. ‘It’s probably _the best_ apartment in Starling. It’s spacious, you’ve got the best view in town, it has a-’

‘Thea,’ Oliver interrupted her. ‘Look at me. I live on my own, I don’t need a spacious place. I barely spend time at home, so the view doesn’t really matter to me.’

‘Oliver, there’s something you’re not telling us.’ His sister continued. ‘I told Slade I wouldn’t push you, but you’re getting ridiculous for some reason! What happened? And don’t say nothing! Because normal people don’t really sell their apartments for no reason.’

By this point, Oliver was trying to maintain his self-control because he didn’t want to fight with his family right now. They were all he had.

‘Let’s just say…’ he stopped and furrowed his eyebrows, searching for the most proper words. ‘Let’s just say things happened there, and everything in that damn apartment reminds me of those things. And I don’t want to be reminded.’

Everyone went quiet, before Moira broke the silence.

‘You know, I support all of your decisions and I stand behind you,’ she started. ‘But you worked so hard to earn the money for that apartment, Oliver. I understand you want to forget those… _things_ that happened there, but don’t you think that selling the condo is a bit of a rushed decision? Based on… feelings?’

‘I…’ Oliver shook his head slightly. ‘I don’t know.’

‘I think you should wait a little bit more and think it through. Give it a month or two, and then if you still want to sell it, you could do that.’ His mother suggested.

‘I… I will consider it.’ Oliver nodded once, before standing up. ‘I’m gonna go now. See you all later.’

 

Oliver reached his apartment and when he opened the door, that suffocating feeling was back once again. He took a couple of slow and hesitant steps, as if he was a burglar… in his own house.  He sighed and walked to his bedroom, when it hit him again.

_Vanilla orchid…_

That delicious, now painful, scent was not lingering in his room anymore. It was gone. _Just like her._

‘Fuck!’ he shouted, before kicking the wall.

He leaned on it, taking deep breaths. After a couple of minutes he managed to calm himself down. He moved as quickly as he could, gathering some more of his belongings.

He left his apartment in half an hour and started driving to work.

He missed her. He felt that if this situation went on any longer, he would explode or go mad.

He needed her. He needed something to remind him of her existence. He couldn’t have her, and that filled his heart with a strong ache. He felt like he was drowning without her.

In that moment Oliver realized that he was the man he was today, because of her. When they had met five years ago, he had screwed things up terribly. He knew that in her eyes he had looked like a jerk and an asshole, and as much as he hated it, he agreed. He had been all those things. For some reason, he had wanted to prove to that little Goth girl that he could be better. After his father had died, he had so many people waiting for him to fall. And Ollie would have fallen. Luckily, he wasn’t Ollie anymore. Thanks to his father and Felicity, he had managed to grow up and leave that toxic life of his behind. Even now, she helped him in ways she probably didn’t understand. Thanks to her, he wanted to be a better man. _For her._ He loved her, yes, but he also loved the person he was with her. And he didn’t want to let go of that person. Even if he couldn’t have her in his life, he needed something that at least reminded him of her.

Before he could stop himself, Oliver was driving to the closest mall. When he got there, he paced and pushed through the people, making his way to the Victoria’s Secret store. He immediately went to the perfumes and looked at the different fragrances.

‘Hello.’ Oliver turned around and saw a blue-eyed brunette smiling up at him. ‘How can I help you?’

Oliver saw her eyes going up and down his body. She gave him a small and seductive smile but he couldn’t care less about her.

‘I…’ he cleared his throat. ‘There’s this perfume… It smells like vanilla orchid.’

‘Well,’ the girl said and placed her hand on his forearm. ‘Most of our perfumes have it in the ingredients.’

‘Aha.’ Oliver pulled his hand out of her reach.

‘I could show them all to you.’ The girl suggested.

‘That would be very nice.’

She took one of the bottles and sprayed it in the air. Oliver got closer and inhaled. It was close. But there was a spicy note to it that showed him it wasn’t Felicity’s perfume.

‘No, that’s not it.’ He shook his head negatively.

So she started spraying some of each perfume, one by one, while Oliver sniffed the air. Some scents were too spicy, others were too sweet, or ‘plainly horrible’ as he described them.

‘Well,’ the girl said looking slightly annoyed. ‘Just so you know, there are only two left.’

She sprayed some from a pink and rectangular bottle that read ‘Bombshell’ and waited. Oliver breathed the scent in and suddenly he was in Felicity’s hotel room, holding her as she cried for her father. Then he was laying in the bed in Alaska with her face buried in his neck, while her hair was tickling him. Lastly, he was in his own bed, making love to her, his forehead pressed to hers.

_That was it._

‘That’s it.’ He exclaimed.

The girl shrugged and asked whether he was buying and he nodded. He followed her to the cash desk.

‘Your girlfriend must be very lucky.’ She said as she was putting the perfume in a small bag. ‘I’ve never met a man that goes through so much trouble for their girlfriend.’

 _You have no idea._ He just nodded, not saying anything and took out the money to pay.

Just as he was leaving the shop, he bumped into somebody.

‘I’m sorry,’ he heard a familiar voice. ‘I can be so clumsy someti-… Oliver?’

‘Donna!’ he said when he finally saw her. ‘Hey!’

‘Hello,’ she hugged him and for a second he wondered if she knew about his and Felicity’s current situation. ‘How are you?’

‘I’m…’ he shrugged. ‘Alright, I guess.’

Then she gave him a small sympathetic smile and he saw a melancholy in her eyes. And he knew. He knew that she knew.

‘I’m sorry, Oliver.’ She said and pulled him to the side. ‘I really don’t know why she’s acting like this.’

‘It’s not your fault.’ He returned her sad smile. ‘She told me. She’s too scared and doesn’t want anything to do with me.’

‘I… I’ve always known about her abandonment issues, but this is getting out of hand.’ Donna shook her head. ‘I want to find my ex-husband and beat the shit out of him for scarring her like that.’

Oliver looked to the side, not wanting Donna to see the sorrow in his eyes. _Yeah, he wanted to do the same, too._  

‘I just…’ he sighed. ‘I just want you to know that I tried.’

‘I know.’ She answered. ‘Maybe I should’ve taken her to a physiologist when she was younger or…’

‘No.’ Oliver cut her off. ‘She’s alright. She just doesn’t want me. And I think it’s time I accepted that.’

Donna met his eyes and he knew they were a reflection of his own- big, tired, hurt. She raised her hand to caress his cheek and he leaned into her hand, closing his eyes.

 _God, she was just like Felicity_. Soothing, calming, relaxing…

When he opened his eyes again she pulled her hand from his face.

‘What are you doing here anyway?’ she asked him with furrowed eyebrows.

‘I, um… I got my sister a perfume.’ He lied.

‘That’s very considerate of you.’ She smiled at him. ‘What did you buy?’

‘Well,’ he pulled the box out and showed it to Donna. ‘This one.’

‘Oh,’ Donna exclaimed. ‘That’s Felicity’s favorite.’

Oliver coughed.

‘I’m really sorry, Donna, but I’ve gotta go.’ He said. ‘I have things to do at work and then other things waiting for me at home and…’

‘Yeah, yeah, I totally understand.’ She nodded. ‘I’m gonna let you go now.’

‘Bye, Donna.’ He said and smiled.

‘Bye, Oliver.’ She gave him a quick hug. ‘It was nice seeing you.’

‘You too.’ He said and walked out of the store.

He drove to Queen Consolidated and spent the afternoon there. He talked with different board members about Isabel Rochev, about sales and new positions. Since there weren’t any actual meetings, he didn’t feel even slightly uncomfortable in his casual clothes.

In the evening he got back to the mansion. He quickly changed into a T-shirt and sweatpants and took the perfume out. He sprayed it in the air and inhaled its’ scent. He could almost feel Felicity’s presence. He walked to his bed and sprayed some more on one of the pillows. Then he put the bottle on his shelf, next to his perfumes. Just as he was about to go downstairs for dinner, he stopped at the door and turned around. He could smell _her_ in his room and even if it was painful, he needed to have some kind of a reminder of her. That she was somewhere, living, breathing, laughing or at least smiling. That thought gave him comfort. He was hoping to God that she was happy. Even if it was without him.

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

**_ A month later: _ **

 

Oliver walked into the conference room in Unidac Industries and greeted everyone there. For some reason Barry Allen was there, and since he was the youngest person in the room Oliver decided to sit down next to him.

‘Hey, Oliver.’ Barry greeted with a huge smile.

‘Hey, Barry.’

‘How have you been? I haven’t seen you in a while.’

‘Oh, well, you know how it is.’ Oliver shrugged. ‘Work, work, work and more work.’ He smiled at him.

‘Sorry to hear.’ Barry furrowed his eyebrows.

‘And what about you?’ Oliver asked. ‘How are things with Patty?’

‘How do you-’ Barry started, but then stopped. ‘The hotel?’

‘Mhm.’ Oliver smiled cheekily.

‘It’s good.’ Barry laughed. ‘I mean, she’s kind of busy but we’re good.’

‘That’s… good.’ Oliver said and they both chuckled.

‘And you?’ Barry poked his ribs with his elbow. ‘Does Oliver Queen, Starling’s most eligible bachelor, have a special lady in his life?’

‘I-’ Oliver started but stopped at the sound of the opening door.

He looked up and his stomach tightened when he saw Felicity. She was wearing a black strapless jumpsuit and red stilettos. Her lips matched their color and her hair was framing her gorgeous face in pretty curls.

After their conversation at the Charity Gala last month, they hadn’t talked about it anymore. They met up almost every day and talked business and acted as if nothing had happened. Felicity had been very stiff and reserved that past month and Oliver wasn’t any better. They were both trying to be civil and normal, but Oliver didn’t really think that was possible after everything that had happened between them.

He was still very much in love with her. He mostly felt a dull ache in his chest, but every time they were together that pain managed to increase. Like now. Looking at her walking into the room and looking for a place to sit, made him forget how to breathe.

‘You okay, buddy?’ Barry asked.

‘M-What?’ Oliver rapidly turned to face the other man. ‘Yeah, yeah. I’m good.’

‘Okay.’ Barry said suspiciously and then shouted. ‘Hey, Felicity!’

Oliver’s eyes shot up to look at her and saw the surprise in hers. She smiled slightly and waved at Barry, before walking to him.

‘What’s up?’ Barry stood up and enveloped her in a tight embrace.

‘Well, me.’ She answered and Barry laughed. Oliver tried to look busy, avoiding her gaze at any cost. ‘I don’t know where to sit. Apparently, someone’s taken my seat and…’ she sighed.

‘The seat next to Oliver is free.’ Barry informed. Oliver’s eyes shot up to look at him frustrated. ‘What?’

‘It’s…’ Oliver was speechless, because he didn’t want her to sit next to him and make things even more awkward. Yet, he wanted her to take the seat, just to feel her close to him. ‘Nothing.’

He lifted his gaze and met hers. Blue staring into blue, her eyes just as worried and tired as his, yet still so beautiful. _That woman_! How she managed to take his breath away with just one look was a mystery to him. He wanted to get up and hold her in his arms, to caress her hair and to whisper in her ear how much he loved her.

‘You can take the seat if you want.’ He said with the same weak tone.

He saw her take a sharp breath and then let it out. She nodded slightly and walked to his other side. For a brief second her fingers brushed on his shoulders causing Oliver to shiver.

 _God, he missed her._ He missed everything about her. He missed her hair, and hands, and body. He missed pressing kisses to the top of her head, or nose, or cheeks. He missed seeing her smile genuinely, he missed her laughter, and being the reason for it. He missed those intense looks they’ve shared and he missed how good they looked together. Hell, he even missed fighting with her.

After the meeting was done, he and Felicity silently walked back to the CEO office with Jerry and started working again. They had a couple of small exchanges, and when Jerry left the office, they got quiet again.

‘So,’ she spoke all of a sudden. ‘Next week we’ll start hiring for the science department.’

‘Yes.’ He simply said. ‘Jerry told me.’

‘Right. Of course he did.’

The air between them got heavy and a deafening and awkward silence took over. Oliver stole a quick glace and saw her adjusting her jumpsuit even though it was okay. For some reason she was nervous and he wanted to ask her what’s wrong so badly but bit his tongue instead. He had no right to ask anything about her now.

‘I…’ she started again. ‘Do you… Will you be okay? I have to leave in 30 minutes.’

‘Um,’ he lifted his eyes to meet hers. ‘I have a couple of folders to look through and I’m heading home.’

‘Okay.’ She nodded once. ‘Do you need help? ... While I’m here.’

‘No, I’m…’ he swallowed. ‘I’ll be okay.’

‘Good.’ She said.

Oliver waited for her to leave but she stood there not moving. Just as he looked up to see her she turned around and headed for the door.

‘Felicity…’ he started and saw her stiffen, before turning to look at him. ‘Where are you going? If it’s not a secret.’

She bit her lip and avoided his gaze for a second before speaking.

‘Ray Palmer invited me to afternoon brunch.’

‘Oh.’

And in that moment, Oliver was sure that getting stabbed with a sword through the chest and then getting kicked off a mountain would most definitely hurt less. He wanted to get up and kick something and then find that fucktard Palmer, shove him in a trash bin and tell him to back off. But he couldn’t do any of that since Felicity was not his to claim. So he just looked at her feet, not wanting to meet her eyes. Not wanting to see her moving on with her life. How did she do it so easily and why couldn’t he?

‘But not brunch, _brunch_ like a date, it’s a work brunch, we’ll be discussing business between Smoak Industries and Palmer Tech.’ she clarified. ‘Is that okay?’

Oliver just looked at her, before nodding and saying: ‘Do what you want… I… If you’ll excuse me I need to use the bathroom.’

‘Oliver-’

‘Have a good day, Felicity.’ He said and left the office, not waiting for her to finish.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

**_  (Felicity’s POV) _ **

Felicity watched his back as he walked past her with a blank expression on his face. She wanted to reach out and grab his hand, but she had no right. She had pushed him away and it was her fault things between them were like that.

_God, she was so fracking stupid. Damn her and her fear._

She wanted to shout out the window as frustration rushed through her whole body. She was so infuriated at herself. She hated the fact that he looked okay while she was feeling like shit. He was apparently moved on and she hated that she was the one hurting again.

He had been probably seeing someone for a month, buying the girl gifts from Victoria’s secret. When her mother had told her that’s she saw him in the store buying a perfume for Thea, Felicity immediately knew he had lied to Donna. Thea hated Victoria’s Secret and _everyone_ knew that. He would never buy her anything from there, so he must’ve bought the perfume for someone else.

Tears pricked her eyes and she carefully caught them before they ruined her perfectly applied makeup. She had cried too many times in the past month, she couldn’t keep on living like this. She needed to get over Oliver. Once and for all.

She quickly left the office and bumped into Jerry, who had been waiting for her.

‘You’re free to go, Jerry.’ She said as she patted his forearm. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’

‘We still have a couple more hours.’ He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

‘I have an appointment, I have to go.’

‘Where are you going?’ he asked.

Felicity sighed before answering.

‘I’m going to a meeting with Ray Palmer.’

Jerry stood silent and blinked a couple of times at her.

‘Did you tell that to Mr. Queen?’ he asked with an even tone.

‘I let him know I’m leaving for today, yeah.’

Before she could react, she felt a dull pain on the side of her head, and realized that Jerry had hit her with a folded newspaper.

‘Jeez,’ she shouted and then rubbed the place. ‘What was that for?’

‘What the hell are you doing, Felicity?’ Jerry grabbed her shoulders and shook her body. ‘Why are you going out with Palmer?’

‘I’m not going out with him!’ she protested. ‘We’re having a business meeting.’

‘You’re one of the smartest people I know, Felicity. You know this is more than just a meeting for him.’

‘Well,’ she nodded once. ‘It’s nothing more for me, so it doesn’t matter.’

‘Are you still running from Mister Queen?’ Jerry asked with a raised eyebrow.

‘I’m not running, Jerry. I’m just…’

‘For God’s sake, Felicity.’ Jerry let out a heavy sigh. ‘Man up a bit. Or… woman up, I don’t know.’

Felicity shot him a look.

‘I don’t understand why you’re doing this,’ Jerry continued. ‘You love him, he loves you, everyone knows you’re perfect for each other, and you keep on running.’

‘I’m not ru-’

‘You can’t always run from problems, Felicity, you need to face them sometimes.’

‘Jerry!’ she shouted. ‘Oliver has a girlfriend!’

‘What?’

‘Yes. He’s been seeing someone. I need to move on, too. So don’t try talking me out of going to brunch with Ray becau-’

‘So, you’re going out with Palmer to get back at Oliver?’ Jerry asked incredulously.

‘I… I didn’t say that.’ She shook her head.

‘You’re going out with him to make Oliver jealous?’

‘No, I’m-’

‘God, Felicity, you’re so much smarter than that!’ Jerry looked at her sympathetically. ‘As far as I know, Mister Queen has eyes only for you. Where did you get that crazy idea that he’s seeing someone?’

‘He’s been buying her gifts, Jerry.’

‘I don’t believe that. I think you need to speak to him and tell him how you feel. You need to be braver, Felicity. Call Ray, tell him you cancel and go talk to Oliver. I know you’re scared but-’

‘Jerry, may I remind you I’m still your boss?’ Felicity said not wanting to hear more. ‘You work for me, I pay you, and you can’t speak to me like that.’

‘Felicity-’

‘I’m sick of people telling me what to do. I’m the one in charge, here. I can fire you if you’re not doing what _I_ want… Which you’re not right now.’ She said coolly.

She saw Jerry widening his eyes for a second before losing the expression on his face. _Oh, great!_ She and Jerry always had a strong connection and throughout the year he’d been working for her, he’d slowly become a good friend of hers. She knew she could trust him with her life and she could share anything with him. She hated fighting with him, but she just couldn’t be told how wrong she was in this situation again. She knew she was wrong, but she had made a decision. And judging by Oliver’s lack of emotion, he had, too.

‘I just think you deserve to be happy… Have a nice meeting, Miss Smoak.’ Jerry said dryly.

She bit her lip, angry at herself, and turned to leave. She knew she should say something, but she didn’t. She just walked away, wiping the tears that had fallen out again.

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

**_ (Oliver’s POV)   _ **

Oliver walked out of the bathroom and through the glass wall, he saw Jerry talking animatedly to Felicity. Then he saw her snapping and all of a sudden Jerry went quiet. _What was going on? Why were they fighting?_

Jerry said something and after a couple of seconds Felicity left. Oliver stood in his seat for a while, and observed Jerry from the wall, separating them.

Oliver decided he couldn’t work anymore for today since his mind was definitely not calm enough to do anything. He quickly sorted some folders and walked out of the office.

‘Hey, Jerry.’

‘Oh,’ the other man’s head lifted up. ‘Hello Mr. Queen.’

‘Are you finishing soon?’

‘Well,’ Jerry looked at the screen before answering. ‘I have to check some papers and… other things.’

‘Listen, Jerry,’ Oliver started. ‘Why don’t you take the day off?’

‘I’m sorry?’

‘Yes. Go home and rest. You can finish tomorrow.’

‘With all due respect, Sir, I’m mostly working for Miss Smoak and… she’s the one who should tell me to go home.’

‘Right.’ Oliver nodded. ‘Well, she’s very lucky to have an assistant like you.’

‘Thank you, Mister Queen.’ Jerry smiled then hesitantly spoke again. ‘Mister Queen, I don’t want to stick my nose in things that aren’t any of my business, but… are you okay? About the whole thing with Miss Smoak?’

 _Oh, great._ If Oliver wasn’t feeling pathetic, he definitely was now. He started wandering what he looked like in people’s eyes. For the past month he’s been broody and rude, or quiet and miserable and he knew people saw his moods. He had probably been looking at Felicity with sad eyes during meetings, and a couple of times he noticed that people had seen him. People probably thought he was going home every night, crying and eating ice cream, while thinking about Felicity. _Which wasn’t too far from the truth._ In reality, he would get back to his room in the mansion, spray her perfume on the pillow and fall asleep.

Jerry was a good guy, however. Felicity trusted him, and for some reason, Oliver did too. So he didn’t lie to him.

‘No.’ Oliver said quietly. ‘I’m not.’

Jerry looked at him, before speaking again.

‘And why are you letting her act like that?’

Oliver smiled sadly.

‘She doesn’t want to be with me, Jerry.’

‘That’s not true.’ Jerry shook his head negatively.

‘She told me so a couple of times.’ Oliver continued. ‘I tried, but I can’t change her mind. And now, she’s seeing… _Palmer_ and-’

‘About that, she’s only going out with him because she thinks you’re seeing someone.’

_What?_

‘What?’ Oliver asked incredulously.

‘I know.’ Jerry nodded.

‘Either way,’ Oliver inhaled deeply. ‘She doesn’t think we’re going to work out. So, I’m going to be a grown-up about it and leave her alone.’

Jerry got up from his place and stood in front of Oliver.

‘Mister Queen,’ he started. ‘I want you to forgive me for what I’m about to do.’

Oliver furrowed his eyebrows. ‘What are you talking abo-’

Before he could finish, Jerry had smacked his head with a folded newspaper.

‘Ow!’ Oliver exclaimed. ‘What the fuck was that for?’

‘That was for thinking that this is the right thing to do.’

‘I-’

‘You love her, for God’s sake!’ Jerry said. ‘When you love a woman, you gotta be prepared for moments like this.’

‘Jer-’

‘Even when she says no, you gotta go after her. You shouldn’t give up on her. You gotta-’

Oliver stopped listening, Jerry’s last words were being repeated in his brain over and over, and over, burning in the back of his mind.

_You shouldn’t give up on her._

Oliver felt a rush of adrenaline mixed with love, at the thought of holding her in his arms again. Felicity Smoak was the love of his life. She was everything. He was going to fight for her.

He didn’t care how long it would take, he was going to make her see things like him, even if it was the last thing he did.

‘Jerry,’ Oliver interrupted Jerry’s monologue.

‘Yes?’

‘Thank you.’ Oliver smiled and patted the other man’s shoulder.

Oliver ran towards the elevator, but not before hearing Jerry’s shout after him.

‘I’m _sooo_ telling this at your wedding!’

Oliver got in the elevator, and looked at himself in the mirror. He was smiling. For some reason, this talk had given him new strength and energy and he believed deep in his bones that this time it would be different.

Mostly because he was different. He wasn’t going to speak to her desperately and he wasn’t going to show her how miserable he was _without_ her. No. He was going to be honest and he was going to tell how happy he was _with_ her.

The second the elevator doors opened and Oliver jumped out of it, he started looking around and saw Felicity at the other end, heading towards the exit with Palmer by her side.

‘FELICITY!’ he shouted and started running. ‘FELICITY, WAIT!’

She stopped in her tracks and slowly turned around. Her mouth slightly opened in shock upon seeing him running through the place. He saw people looking at him with curious and surprised eyes but he couldn’t be bothered to care. Oliver ran as fast as he could, bumping into a couple of people, including the cleaning lady and apologized before he finally caught up on Felicity. He stopped a couple of meters from her, and leaned down, inhaling in an attempt to catch his breath. When he looked up again, he saw Palmer moving closer to her with an annoyed look on his face.

‘Felicity,’ Oliver breathed out and smiled at her. ‘What are we doing?’

Her eyes started blinking rapidly as she was still looking at him in disbelief.

‘Well, Queen,’ Ray started talking, much to Oliver’s chagrin. ‘I don’t know about _you_ , but _WE_ are going to have a brunch.’

Oliver shot him an annoyed look, before calming himself. He wasn’t here to argue or fight with that douche. He was here for Felicity. He would always be.

‘Felicity,’ he smiled at her again and repeated his question. ‘What. Are. We. Doing?’

He saw the slight shaking of her head, and took the chance to slowly walk towards her.

‘Why are we doing this to ourselves?’ he asked again. ‘Why are we still fighting our feelings?’

‘Queen,’ Palmer started talking again. ‘I’m sorry to interrupt your confession, but we’ve got a reservation in-’

‘Felicity, you know I’ve been a jerk most of my life,’ Oliver cut him off. ‘But the second I saw you five years ago, it was like a switch was flipped. You were different and not only because you were the only one wearing black during a spring break party.’

He swore to God, he heard a small chuckle coming out from her.

‘After the horrible truth bombs you dropped on me in the morning after our night together, I realized that you were right and for some reason, I wanted to change who I was. I didn’t want to be that guy anymore… Then my father passed away and I had to grow up fast. I became another type of person- I was working hard, but I was broody and rude... Again, someone I didn’t want to be. I was lost, Felicity and I didn’t know who I was.’

‘That’s really heart-touching, Queen, but-’ Ray tried to talk, but Oliver interrupted him again.

‘But then you walked into that press conference room to introduce yourself, and I… I can’t even explain it…’ he took a deep breath. ‘I wanted to prove to you that I was better.’

He met her eyes and saw that they were wetter than earlier. He took another step towards her, and stopped still trying to keep some distance.

‘When I’m with you, I’m exactly who I want to be.’ He smiled at her, and saw the first tear sliding down her cheek. ‘I’m kind, and motivated, and inspired… And happy.’

Her lower lip was trembling slightly, and he knew she was trying hard to fight back her tears.

‘For so long I’ve been existing, not really living.’ He continued, not breaking their eye contact. ‘You make me love life, Felicity. And I could never thank you enough for it.’

She inhaled shakily, still not saying a single word.

‘However,’ Oliver started talking again, after making another step towards her. ‘I think I can thank you by doing the same for you.’

Her eyes closed for a second at the realization of his words and she smiled sadly.

‘You’ve been scared your whole life and I blame your father for it. Then you finally decided to open up to someone and Cooper betrayed your trust. I’m sorry for it.’

‘Oliver,’ Ray said angrily. ‘Felicity and I are going to be late if you don’t st-’

‘Ray,’ Felicity finally spoke turning towards him. ‘Could you, like, shut up for a second?’

 Oliver’s eyes widened upon hearing her words and he fought back the laughter that they had caused. Ray was visibly surprised too, but he just pursed his lips and nodded once.

‘Felicity,’ Oliver spoke again and watched her, as she turned to look at him, too. ‘I promise I will never do anything to hurt you. I know for fact, that you’re better around me too.’

Her eyes got wet again, and some tears managed to escape them. What was she going to do now? Would she run away again? Or would she run into his arms instead? Oliver cleared his throat and did something he never thought he would.

‘ _If you’re not the one for me…_ ’ he started. ‘ _Then how come I can bring you to your knees_?’  

He was serenading her. In the middle of the Unidac Industries building hall. With different people around them. And Palmer… he was singing. He was singing their song. _Slightly out of tune_ , but that didn’t matter… Her jaw fell and her eyes widened even more.

‘ _If you’re not the one for me, why do I hate the idea of being free?_

_If I’m not the one for you, you’ve gotta stop holding me the way you do._

_If I’m not the one for you, why have we been through what we have been through?_... Forgive me, but I kind of forgot the rest of the words.’

She chuckled and he looked at her, a smile drawing on his face too. She was so beautiful and his hands itched to touch her. But the fight wasn’t over yet.

‘I do remember some lines from the chorus, though.’ He cleared throat again. ‘ _Don’t pretend that you don’t want me._ ’ He stepped even closer and now he was about 2 feet away from her. ‘Our love ain’t water under the bridge.’

Her tears were rolling down her cheek, but she didn’t bother wiping them. He took another step and hesitantly brushed his fingers over her skin, wiping them for her.

‘Felicity, we should go.’ Palmer spoke and Oliver turned to look at him.

His cheeks were red and angry and Oliver couldn’t help the smirk.

‘Ray,’ Felicity said, still not moving away from Oliver. Oliver fist pumped in his mind. ‘I think we should reschedule.’

‘Um…’ the other man was speechless for a second. ‘But I made a reservation in Antonio’s.’

‘I know.’ She said. ‘I’m sorry. Look, I’ll have my assistant call yours. Why don’t you stop by my office next Monday at around 11? Jerry and I will gladly have you.’

Oliver moved his gaze from Ray to look at her profile and smiled. That was her way of telling Ray that she was not interested. Oliver couldn’t help his desire to touch her skin again, so he gently brushed his fingers on her cheek again, making her shiver. She inhaled sharply and he smiled, knowing the effect he had on her. The same effect she had on him.

‘I… Okay, Felicity. As you wish.’ Palmer said. ‘Have a good day.’

And with that, he just walked out of the building, finally leaving Oliver alone with Felicity. When their eyes met, Oliver remembered Jerry’s words from earlier and decided to clarify things.

‘I’m not seeing anyone.’ He said. ‘I don’t even know how you came up with that thought.’

 ‘I…’ she shook her head. ‘My mum saw you shopping in Victoria’s Secret. Thea hates it, so you must’ve been shopping for someone else, and I thought-’

‘Felicity,’ he cut her short. ‘Do you want to know the real reason why I was shopping from Victoria’s Secret?’

She looked up to see him, and he got closer. He was thankful for their height difference; he absolutely loved how tiny she was next to him.

‘Okay,’ he started, his breath ghosting over her face. ‘This is going to sound pathetic.’

She raised her eyebrow in confusion, waiting for him to talk.

‘You know I loved your perfume, right?’ he started and chuckled to himself. ‘When… when you and I broke up, I wanted something to remind me of you.’

Her wet eyes widened again, and a couple of tears came down again.

‘So I bought the perfume. I didn’t know which one it was so I think I might’ve driven the poor shop-assistant crazy.’

She let out a small giggle, through her tears. He sighed as he watched her beautiful face light up.

‘I’m scared it might fade away, so I spray some of it on my pillows _every night_.’ He confessed. ‘That way _you’re with me_ , even though you’re not really with me.’

The sparkle in her eyes was there, indicating it was time he made his final move.

‘You know, Felicity,’ he finally pressed his body to hers, feeling her breasts rising against his lower chest area. ‘I have half a bottle of your favorite perfume.’ Their eyes met and he spoke quietly. ‘It’s yours if you come with me.’

Her eyes started moving fast across his face, as she took a deep breath.

This was the moment. Oliver waited for her answer, holding his breath. His palms started sweating, and he could hear his heartbeat. He was looking straight into her eyes, waiting, and waiting. After what seemed like an eternity, she let out her breath and blinked a couple of times keeping her gaze on his.

‘Okay.’ She said softly.

Oliver’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open, as he finally exhaled.

‘Really?’ he asked in disbelief.

She nodded and smiled at him. He felt his lips growing into a huge grin himself, as his hands shot down and wrapped around her waist, enveloping her into a tight embrace. Her arms wrapped around his neck and he felt her dampening it with her tears. He squeezed her even more and felt his heart fill with love and joy, when she did the same.

They stayed like that for a long time, before he finally loosened his grip and pulled back slightly. Her eye makeup was now completely ruined and was probably all over his collar, but he didn’t care. Because he was happy, and by the look on her face, she was, too. He slowly lowered his face and pressed his mouth to hers. He could taste her salty tears as their lips moved together in perfect synchronicity. He licked her lower lip, asking for entrance, which she gave, and when their tongues met she let out a satisfied moan. Oliver pressed her body to his again, while continuing kissing her. She was caressing his shoulders and after a month of frustration, and stress, and misery, he finally relaxed under her touch.

A couple of moments later she pulled away, giving them a chance to catch their breaths. Her lipstick was ruined as well, and Oliver knew he had some of it on his lips.

‘Felicity,’ he spoke. ‘I will never ever let you go, do you hear me? You are my happiness and I love you.’

‘I’m sorry for the way I acted.’ She said and pressed her forehead to his. ‘You make me so, so, so happy, Oliver. I love you, too.’    

He closed his eyes, as he felt his heart melting from her words.

_She loved him._

_She loved him._

_She loved him._

She had finally said it out loud and he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist again. Until this moment, Oliver had no idea just how desperate he had been to hear them. He knew she loved him, but finally hearing it from her, made everything better.

After holding each other for a while they let go and smiled.

‘So…’ Oliver said as they walked out of the building.

The sun was shining brightly, and the weather was surprisingly warm. The hustle and bustle of the big city was evident, with people walking fast, talking on their phones animatedly. The traffic was bad especially at this part of city at this hour. Everything was the same in Starling City.

Except it wasn’t.

Everything was different for Oliver now. He had realized what the key to his happiness was and he finally had it with him.

The two of them started walking, neither knowing where they were going. He laced their fingers together and saw her smiling with his peripheral vision.

‘So… Miss Smoak…’ he said again, as they walked on the street, passing different people. ‘Since we’re both done working for today, why don’t we go for an afternoon brunch?’

She chuckled. ‘Well, _Mister Queen_ , I believe you have a perfume to give me.’

‘Oh,’ he remembered. ‘I forgot.’

‘Mhm,’ she said and stopped. He waited for her to speak, as she lifted herself on her toes and whispered to his ear. ‘I can show exactly how grateful I am when we get there.’

When she pulled away she had a wicked smirk on her face and she winked at him.

_That woman!_

Oliver felt his pants growing tighter. He had been dry for a month and they had a lot of catching up to do. He grabbed her hand and waved towards the street for a taxi, making her chuckle.

When one of the cabs stopped, they quickly sat in the backseat and Oliver gave the mansion’s address.

‘Oliver,’ she spoke. ‘Why are we going to the mansion?’

‘I was thinking of selling the Penthouse, so I moved back to the mansion… Long story.’ He said at her confused expression. ‘But now, I think I’ll be needing it, so… I guess I’ll keep it.’

‘Good idea.’ She smiled at him. ‘I liked it very much.’

They stood silent for a moment before she spoke again.

‘We’re gonna be fine.’

He turned to look at her face.

‘How can you be so sure?’ he teased.

‘Because we found ourselves in each other.’

He smiled and leaned towards her pressing another kiss to her lips.

It was a mystery to him how she always knew what to say and what do to… It was probably going to be a mystery for the rest of his life, too.

_That woman!_

 

_~THE END~_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you liked it!   
> Thank you again for believing in me! I'll see you soon! <3 <3 <3

**Author's Note:**

> So? What do you think? Should I continue? Feel free to leave a comment or kudo :P  
> My tumblr is http://xoxo-wild-one.tumblr.com/ . I don't post things about the fandom there but you could message me and we could talk about it! Thanks to everyone who takes the time to read this! <3


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